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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25959322">Shadow of the Void</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crossovers_and_Randomness/pseuds/Crossovers_and_Randomness'>Crossovers_and_Randomness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Beyond the Universe [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who (2005), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(not romance-heavy), Bittersweet Ending, Caves, F/M, Gen, Light finnrey, Multiverse, Multiverse Weirdness, Original planet, hinted/implied finnrey, light vs dark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 08:41:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25959322</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crossovers_and_Randomness/pseuds/Crossovers_and_Randomness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Doctor and Rey get a message from an old ally, they stop by to investigate a series of strange signals coming from the forest. But when Rey meets a stranger with a strangely familiar power, they realize that the universe itself may be in danger...and Rey will have to face her own destiny to save it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Finn/Rey (Star Wars)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Beyond the Universe [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734793</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part 1 Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, this is the last story in this series. On all the other ones I tried to make them basically standalone, but I just didn't even try on this one lol. So there's a lot of tie-ins to the previous stories in the series that are pretty important to understand this story. <br/>(And no, this is not shameless self-promotion...maybe...*whispers* read the series)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What’s that, then?” The Doctor planted his hands on the edge of the console and leaned forward, making eye contact with the woman on the other end of the viewscreen. One eyebrow shot up. “Urgent thing, need us to come?”</p>
<p>“Yes, Doctor.” Commander Iria of the Spirian Special Forces sat against a hospital-white background, blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. The collar of her white uniform was ironed and stark, with five black bars along each shoulder. She regarded the Doctor with a steady, calm gaze. “We’ve had some…strange incidents lately, and I’m ashamed to say that none of us can make any sense of them. I thought you’d be interested, knowing you.”</p>
<p>Rey thought she caught a hint of humor in the woman’s voice. She hid a slight smile as she peeked around the Doctor, half-hoping Commander Iria couldn’t see her through the viewscreen.   </p>
<p>“Ah—incidents!” The Doctor smirked. “You know me, never one to turn town a mysterious string of incidents. Exactly what kind of incidents, then? Are we talking alien occurrences, or—”</p>
<p>“Doctor.” Iria’s forehead creased in an almost scolding frown. “I’m surprised at you, considering how we met.”</p>
<p>The Doctor frowned.</p>
<p>Rey nudged him. “Alien…”</p>
<p>“Ah—right.” His hand went to his hair. “I didn’t mean—”</p>
<p>Iria chuckled. “I know. You know, it’s amusing when you try to defend yourself.” Her lips turned up in a slight smirk before she snapped back into commander-mode. “As I was saying, we’ve never seen these readings before, and we thought you might have some insight—”</p>
<p>“Unidentifiable readings!” A grin burst across the Doctor’s face. “Ooh, I like a good unidentifiable reading. We’ll be there in one minute sharp.” He flicked the screen off and dashed around the console, flicking levers and buttons as he went.</p>
<p>With a whirr, the light shifted up and down the center column, TARDIS shot forward toward the Planet of Spires.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part 1 Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another one of those "I was having fun with descriptions" chapters, lol. <br/>Also, Iria is oddly fun to write.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey peeked out of the TARDIS door, lips parted in a half-uttered exclamation.</p><p>Huge silver spires shot into the air around them, the mid-morning sun glinting off of them like diamonds. At their base, the spires were as large as a building, some as large as five or six buildings, and windows and doors were cut from their sides. Streets ran between them, and in the distance she could hear the hum of a city. The TARDIS sat at the end of what appeared to be a driveway, running down to the door into one of the larger spires. Curved steps leading to the door and a logo above it, five silver stars circling a stylized spiral galaxy of gold, gave it the appearance of something official.</p><p>The Doctor dashed past her and turned to her with a grin, motioning around with a sweep of his arm. “The Planet of Spires! Bit of a better welcome this time, wouldn’t you say?”</p><p>“It’s amazing…” She stepped out and turned in a slow circle, nearly stumbling over her feet as she tilted her head back to see the top of the nearest spire. She’d been here once before, but she’d been in the hospital with a blinding headache for most of that visit, and she’d hardly thought to ask questions. “Are they natural?”</p><p>“Yep! Formed here millennia ago. Naturally hollow. Atmosphere’s just right too…perfect place for a civilization.” He grinned. “Planet’s filled with whole <em>cities </em>of them!”</p><p>She took a step closer, wanting to run up and touch the shimmering silver. She raised her hand to shade her eyes against the almost painfully-bright sun…</p><p>“Ah, you’re here.” The voice cut through her reverie and she started and tried to blink away the black spots. Commander Iria strode down the steps and approached them. She had on a full uniform, collared top, a tight dress skirt, and white heels, and Rey wondered if she ever wore anything else. It looked rather uncomfortable.</p><p>She stopped in front of them and raised an eyebrow. “That was five minutes and thirty-seven seconds, earth time.”</p><p>The Doctor blinked, started to say something, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Ah—well. TARDIS isn’t perfect with the timing. One minute, five, hard to tell the difference sometimes.”</p><p>“Then I’d suggest you calibrate your ship’s time coordinates.” Iria turned and marched up the steps with a sharp nod at the two of them to follow.</p><p>The Doctor bounded up the steps after her, and Rey was a step behind. A pitiful beep sounded behind her, and she turned to see BB8 bumping against the first step, his head tilted downward. She could almost see his single black eye narrowing in frustration.</p><p>A laugh escaped, and she put her hand over her mouth. She’d nearly forgotten about the poor little droid.</p><p>A few gentle pushes later, BB8 was at the top of the steps and peeking in the door. Rey stopped at the threshold, tilting her head back to see the top, then looking down, over the edge of the steps and to the ground below. The silver seemed to disappear below the grass and dirt, and she wondered if it had pushed up from under the ground like some sort of plant. She pressed her palm against the metal. In the shade of the towering spire, the silver was cool against her skin, undulating in smooth waves. Could she see herself in it? She leaned off the edge of the steps, balancing on one foot and peering into her reflection. It was distorted slightly, her lips twisted to the side and on eye bigger than the other. It was oddly fascinating and strange at the same time.  </p><p>Voices echoed out of the open doorway and she pulled back, remembering why they were here.</p><p>Stepping out of the sun, the inside of the building was dark, but as her eyes adjusted she saw that it looked surprisingly normal. A carpeted hallway ran down the center of the building, branching off into doors and rooms. Feeling oddly out of place in the pristine office that nearly smelled of professionality, she padded softly down the hallway, following the sound of familiar voices. As she rounded a corner, the Doctor and the Commander were deep in conversation as they stepped into an elevator.</p><p>“Wait!” She dashed forward. The pair turned toward her as she nearly slammed into the elevator door, throwing an arm forward to stop it from closing. It slid back open and she stumbled inside, BB8 rolling in behind her.</p><p>As the doors closed, she thought she saw Iria shaking her head.</p><p>She nearly glared at her. She’d forgotten how blasted <em>calm </em>the woman was.</p><p>“As I was saying,” she continued, as if Rey hadn’t just come flying down the hallway and fallen into the elevator, “this is the first time we’ve had this number of unexplained incidents on our planet in over one hundred years. It’s nearly unheard of.”</p><p>The Doctor raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Yes, I’m aware that sounds a bit self-righteous. But we have an exceptional force here, Doctor. Incidents are always solved in a matter of days.”</p><p>The elevator beeped, and the doors slid open to reveal a large, sprawling office, ringed with windows on two sides and overlooking a city of spires that poked up like blades of grass. A desk sat in the center and bookshelves covered one wall, computers another. Rey hovered by the elevator for a moment, mouth slightly open. Did commanders usually have offices this big?</p><p>The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up. “This is your office?”</p><p>She gave a quick nod and strode over to the nearest computer, fingers flying over the keyboard as she unlocked it and pulled up a series of files.</p><p>BB8 rolled over and bumped lightly against her leg. She paused and glanced down, and Rey thought she saw a hint of a smile. She gave the droid a small nudge with her leg, as if to acknowledge him, and then turned back to the computer.</p><p>The Doctor was a step behind BB8, and Rey stopped staring around the huge room and followed him. The files looked like incident reports, lined up side by side on the large screen.</p><p>“As you can see…” she motioned across the screen, “there have been seven incidents in the last two weeks, earth time. Here…” she tapped on the first report, and it zoomed in, “the first incident. Fourteen days ago. Small, personal craft. Crashed and was recovered two hours later. The driver stated that he’d lost control of the ship. He survived the incident with some bruises and a punctured lung,” she added, and Rey thought she saw something that might be concern behind that calm façade. “The rest of the incidents involved ships having their navigation systems scrambled. We’ve traced their paths, and…”</p><p>She swiped her finger across the screen, and the files disappeared, replaced with a map. It centered of a large swath of green, a forested area that didn’t seem to have any spires. Bright yellow lines ran across it, converging at a single point and disappearing.</p><p>“Every navigation system seems to have turned off or malfunctioned at the same place.” She tapped the map where the lines ended—and it shifted to another screen.</p><p>Another incident report. <em>Missing </em>written across the top in large letters. This one had a picture, an old woman with tanned, wrinkled skin and straight dark hair pulled back by a bright green scarf that flowed down her back. The scarf matched her eyes—emerald green, and they seemed to stare out of the screen at Rey.</p><p>Iria narrowed her eyes and quickly swiped away. “Forgive me. I simply must recalibrate the touch sensitivity of this screen. As I was saying…we’ve had agents scouring the area and searching for anything out of the ordinary, but all we’ve found are some odd signals that none of our scanners can identify, advanced as they are. I suppose you’ll want to take a look yourself, but feel free to look through the data first. I’ve given you biometric access.”</p><p>He waved a hand. “Appreciate the sentiment, but nah. All this incident report language is all a bit legal-y and not terribly exciting. Let’s have a look at that forest!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Part 1 Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Rey's a little confused, but she got the spirit.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Here we are.”</p><p>Iria brought the sleek silver hovercar to a stop and let it settle to the forest floor with a slight thump. The Doctor was out the door in an instant, whipping out his sonic in one smooth motion, and Rey was a step behind him, feet crunching in the leaves.  </p><p>Trees surrounded them, mid-morning sunlight shimmering through the branches and casting pools of light and shadow on the forest floor.</p><p>Rey couldn’t help a smile. She closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath, listening to the wind rustling in the leaves, the birds chirping…</p><p>Something hummed beneath the forest. She could feel the sap flowing through the trees like a heartbeat, the roots worming their way downward, everything quivering with life. A presence, like something living, swirling around her and through the trees like a twisting vine.</p><p>Like water flowing through a crack.</p><p>Her eyes popped open and she blinked, shaking her head as if to clear it. The forest seemed oddly empty, as if something had shifted around her. A stick snapped beneath her foot, and she realized suddenly that the hovercar sat a good twenty feet behind her. She’d been walking this whole time, as if pulled by a magnet.</p><p>She wasn’t sure where the rest of the group had gone, but they could find their own way. The last time she’d gotten a sense like this, it had led her to information. She closed her eyes again and focused. Her foot moved forward a little, and she took a testing step. The shifting, swirling presence tugged at her, and she took another step.</p><p>And slammed face-first into the rough bark of a tree.</p><p>She stumbled backward with a little cry, swiping dirt off her cheek. Her nose throbbed and she thought she felt a stinging cut.</p><p>She huffed. Lesson learned. Eyes open next time.</p><p>She was half-glad the Doctor and Iria hadn’t been here to see that.</p><p>Resisting the urge to close her eyes again, she felt around for the sense and pivoted slightly to the right. There. She took a step forward. The pull was almost physical, and after a few steps she was running, weaving through the trees, the strange presence growing stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter until it surrounded her like a bubble of light.</p><p>She skidded to a stop as a rock-face shot up before her, vines and moss hiding a dark opening just above her head. It called to her like a siren’s call, a pulsing star. She jumped, grabbed the edge of the opening, and scrambled up the side, hardly noticing the rocks scraping her legs. Shoving aside the vines, she stumbled and found herself on her knees in the darkness.</p><p>Something moved.</p><p>Her hand went to her side and her eyes darted about, trying to get a glimpse of something, anything.</p><p>A voice spoke from the shadows.</p><p>“I was wondering when you would get here, Rey.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Part 1 Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>FINNNNN<br/>Also, I think I just invented a new alien species.<br/>(ALSO also, Poe is not dead, he just doesn't appear in this story and Finn thinks he's dead, because, you know, The Force Awakens timeline and all that.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Finn didn’t know how long he’d been walking when he stumbled onto the edges of a small settlement.</p><p>Finn. That was his name now. Less than a day ago, he’d been FN2187, First Order stormtrooper, and now…he was Finn.</p><p>He had a name.</p><p>He couldn’t get his head around it.</p><p>During the long hours he’d spent trudging away from the desert grave of his only friend, he’d had plenty of time to think about what he’d done. He was a wanted man now, definitely. The First Order—maybe even his former co-workers, the people he’d grown up with—would be after him, and he needed to get out.</p><p>Somewhere.</p><p>He was lost. Maybe he’d die here. If Poe had gotten out, could they have made it off the planet together? He’d made a friend and lost him in a matter of hours. He swiped his hand across his forehead, wiping away sweat. He’d shed the last of his armor, but the all-black shirt and pants he wore underneath seemed to soak up the heat. He nearly went to his knees, the town shimmering in front of him, his thoughts blurring. Was it a mirage? Or if it wasn’t, was the First Order there waiting for him, waiting to grab him and drag him back into the tunnels of Starkiller Base?</p><p>He couldn’t find it in him to care. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees at the well at the edge of the town, scooping up water with his hands, not even taking in his surroundings until he’d drank as much as he could and splashed water over his face to cool the burning heat. He took a deep breath and stood, his head still pounding, and tried to get a look around.</p><p>It was a shabby little place, with shanties built of rusty metal and old parts that looked like they’d been ripped from ships. He just stood there for a moment, panting a little. He needed to do something, he needed to—was there anyone here who could help him?</p><p>He started toward where the buildings were grouped a bit closer, trying for determination and failing. Humans and all manner of other beings milled around, he heard a woman shouting in the distance, and some animal lowed. Booths of ragged cloth were planted haphazardly in the sand, their owners shouting and haggling. A marketplace. He was in a marketplace.</p><p>How did he ask someone for a ride off the planet? If he mentioned the Resistance, would they arrest him or report him?</p><p>He glanced around and zeroed in on the nearest booth. A woman sat in its shadow, dark skin wrinkled and weather-worn, dark blue hair pulled back in a tight bun. He stepped into the shadow of the booth, heart pounding in his hears and nearly drowning out the cacophony of the market. She glanced up at him, and her eyes were yellow, pupils slanted like a cat’s, and her lips pulled back slightly to reveal two pointed teeth.</p><p>“What do you want?” she said shortly.</p><p>“Do you know of any ships leaving the planet?” he blurted, and immediately regretted it. He was trying to be subtle here. That wasn’t subtle. That wasn’t subtle at all. Now he probably sounded like he was running away from something. Which he was. But nobody was supposed to know that!</p><p>She raised an unimpressed eyebrow and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Check the shipyard. Probably a merchant or two there.”</p><p>“Shipyard. Right.” Shouldn’t he have thought of that first? “Thank you—ma’am.” Not sticking around to dig himself any deeper into this hole, he just turned and took off toward the empty space at the edge of the town, littered with everything from an old Rebellion X-Wing to a giant cargo ship. One or two of the ships seemed to be functional, and the others had all been sitting there for years, eaten away by rust and elements. A few people moved about, and he stood at the edge of the sand-field, trying to pick out which seemed to be associated with which ship. A small figured carrying a pile of at least three large crates moved toward a rather small cargo ship, and older model he thought. The name <em>Scavenger </em>was emblazoned on the side.</p><p>The figure was met by a taller woman, who nodded curtly up the ramp. Them. They seemed to be preparing to leave. Not pausing to think about it—if he did, he’d doubt himself—he jogged over to the pair.</p><p>The woman turned as he approached.  Her long dark hair was pulled into a tight bun and a grey circle with lines shooting out like rays was emblazoned on her green jacket. Some kind of insignia. She gave him a steely look. “Who are you?”</p><p>The little man came back, minus crates, and Finn saw that he seemed to be the same species as the woman from the booth, wrinkled dark skin and catlike eyes. He stopped in the doorway and gave Finn an appraising look. “Eh, who’s this?” The words were quick and sharp, and yet not unfriendly.</p><p>“Finn. I’m Finn.” He glanced between them. “I was wondering if anyone here needed any help—”</p><p>“Help!” The little man snapped his fingers and grinned, revealing two pointed teeth like fangs. “Ah—that’s <em>exactly </em>what we need. Captain Haria here’s got me organizing our cargo hold—which is a terrible mess, I may add—”</p><p>“Organizing! I’m good at organizing.” It was true, right? He’d always liked to keep things organized and clean. He was good at organizing. He glanced between them, hoping he wasn’t seeming too desperate. “I need a job and a pass off this planet.” Was that the right thing to say? That wasn’t too suspicious, surely. Anyone would want off this sand-hole if they were stuck here. “I could help you with—”</p><p>Captain Haria eyed him, her eyes narrowed. He snapped his mouth shut and tried to meet her eyes. He mostly succeeded, although he couldn’t help tapping his fingers against his leg, wondering if she could somehow read his mind. It certainly felt like it.</p><p>She broke his gaze and jerked her head up the ramp. “Prove it. Help Rass get the cargo hold in shape. We leave in an hour.”  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Part 1 Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was editing/proofreading this chapter and I have to admit, I had a good laugh at the Doctor's "metaphorical face."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Who are you?” Rey back toward the opening, peering warily into the darkness. “And how do you know my name?”</p><p>The voice spoke again. It was the voice of an old woman, but smooth and confident. “I sensed your arrival.”</p><p>“How—” She stopped backing away, curiosity flickering in her mind. Somehow, she didn’t feel hostility or suspicion from the voice in the shadows. Just a sort of neutral, grounded calm. Did the voice have a body, or was she speaking to some sort of spirit?</p><p>“May I see you?” she asked quietly.</p><p>Laughter. “Of course. I forget you haven’t trained your other senses.” A switch clicked, and electric light flooded the small cave. An old woman sat cross-legged at the other end of the stone chamber, something like a lantern beside her, casting her face in eerie shadows. Dark hair flowed down her back, tied loosely with a bright green scarf that matched sharp, ageless green eyes.</p><p>“It’s you!” Rey blurted.</p><p>“Ah.” The woman raised an eyebrow. “You’ve seen me?”</p><p>“You were on the missing report. I saw it back in Commander Iria’s office—” Rey cut herself off, wondering suddenly if she should be telling the woman all this. She wasn’t supposed to have seen that document…</p><p>“Missing?” She chuckled. “Ah, my grandson does nothing but worry. I’m not surprised. Come.” She raised a hand and motioned for Rey to come forward. “I want to look at you.”</p><p>Rey hesitated, then stepped forward, dropping to a crouch before the woman. Something about her seemed to command respect and obedience. Rey wondered if she should be questioning that, but the question slipped to the back of her mind as her eyes met the woman’s.</p><p>She seemed to stare straight into Rey’s soul, peeling away layer after layer and reading them like the pages of a book. Memories flashed through her mind as if they’d been dredged up from the bottom of a lake. The years on Jakku. The nights she’d spent crying alone in the ruins she’d claimed as a home. The hope she’d clung to as a lifeline, pushing her through days without food under the scorching sun. Her adventures with the Doctor, the best few months of her life, playing like a recording in fast-motion—</p><p>A noise at the doorway brought them both around, and Rey’s hand went to her lightsaber. The Doctor’s face poked through the vines, and then Irena just behind him.</p><p>“How did you find me!” Rey yelped, jumping to her feet.</p><p>“Just followed your trail. You must’ve been in quite a hurry.” The Doctor grinned, vaulted inside, and reached a hand down to help Iria. She ignored the offered hand and scrambled up herself.  </p><p>Rey wanted to grin. She’d done the same so often.  </p><p>“If you were trying to escape us, you really must learn how to cover your trail.” Iria dusted off her white uniform and glanced around. Her gaze swept past the old woman and froze. “Laya Codryn.” Her voice was mostly calm, but tinged with surprise. “Your grandson reported you missing two weeks ago.”</p><p>The old woman chuckled. “Ah. I thought as much.”</p><p>“Ah—how long’ve you been out here, then?” The Doctor eyed her with much the same look Rey must have. “You’re being a bit mysterious, and—wait, did you say two weeks? Isn’t that when the incidents started?” He snapped his fingers. “Aha! Do you happen to know anything about ships crashing or getting their navigation systems horribly scrambled? Now, I want to say you had nothing to do with it, but—”</p><p>“Doctor.” Laya raised an eyebrow at him, and just kept looking until he shut his mouth. “Only a fool asks a question without listening to its answer.”</p><p>Iria turned away, the shadows hiding a slight smirk. Rey put a hand over her mouth to hide a laugh.</p><p>“I felt it two weeks ago.” Laya’s tone was calm, as if she hadn’t just smacked the Doctor across his metaphorical face. “I have often wandered these woods, seeking medicinal herbs and finding peace in the presence of nature, but that day I felt it calling me to this cave. It trickles from the center of the cave, farther than I can go. Like water spilling from a spring.” She smiled, her gaze looking past them and past the walls of the cave themselves. “I have spent these last two weeks listening…and learning.”</p><p>“Wait, learning? Listening? It’s alive?” The Doctor tangled his fingers in his hair, both eyebrows shooting up. “What is this—thing? Stuff? Energy? A spirit?”</p><p>“It is neither a living being nor a substance.” She closed her eyes, and her voice took on an almost ethereal cadence. “It calls itself the Force.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Part 1 Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It has come to my attention that the name "Laya" sounds entirely too much like "Leia." This was not intentional. I don't know how I did that without realizing it. xD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Doctor was already halfway across the cave and adjusting the settings on his sonic by the time Rey stopped staring at the woman. That couldn’t be right. The Force didn’t exist here, and she didn’t even know if it was real <em>there—</em>in her universe. It was a myth, the power of the Jedi heroes of old.  </p><p>“You call me a Jedi, do you?” The sharp voice made Rey start, and she stared at the woman, her eyes widening. Laya leveled her with an interested gaze. “Now that’s not a word I’ve heard before.”</p><p>Rey took a step backward. “Did I say that out loud?”</p><p>Laya chuckled. “Perhaps. Or perhaps your thoughts are so clear that they are like spoken words.”</p><p>“You can—” <em>The Force. The Jedi of old could read minds, and sometimes control them…</em>she backed away a little further, glancing at the door. She had trusted her immediately. How was that possible? She knew better than to just trust someone like that.</p><p>“You have no need to fear. You are much too strong for anyone to manipulate you with little tricks like that. You know this, Rey. You’ve always known it.” The memory of the Revolution sprung forward as if called, the newspapers hiding psychic signals, her own mind straining against them. The only human to resist the manipulation. “Come.”</p><p>Rey couldn’t find it in her to resist. The old woman’s words had a ring of truth to them. She took a hesitant step forward, then dropped to a crouch.</p><p>Laya’s rough, warm hands closed around Rey’s, and then Rey was sitting cross-legged in front of her, wanting to ask but not sure what the question was. Laya closed her eyes and a sort of peace softened her face, her lips turning up in a slight, calm smile. Something like white light seemed to shimmer around her, flowing outward and filling the cave like diamonds and stars. Rey’s lips parted slightly and she tilted her head back—and realized that the cave was only a cave, and the shimmering stars were only a sense.</p><p>A sense she’d followed through the forest only a few minutes ago.</p><p>“The darkness is coming.” Laya’s voice had a surprised lilt. “The darkness is coming—and you are right in the middle of it.”</p><p>“No.” Rey jerked her hands away, trying to sever the connection. No, that couldn’t be right. She didn’t know what the woman was talking about, but it couldn’t be right. In the middle of the darkness? She wasn’t dark. She couldn’t be.</p><p>She jumped to her feet and edged toward the doorway. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t want to be in the middle of anything—”</p><p>“Rey.”</p><p>Something about the single word, spoken so calmly and yet so firmly, dragged her to a stop almost physically. She stared, everything in her screaming to run. “What?” she snapped.</p><p>Laya’s eyes were closed, and yet she seemed to be looking at something very real. “Rey, you are not the darkness. But you are the only one who can fight it.”</p><p>“I—I don’t know what you mean.” Rey glanced at the door again, wanting to run, wanting so badly to get away from the strange sense that seemed to edge at the corners of her mind, and yet drawn to the woman with a strange curiosity. “I’m not a warrior, I’m not important—”</p><p>Laya smiled. “You will be.”</p><p>“Will be what? A warrior?” <em>Important? </em>That one didn’t seem worth mentioning. She couldn’t be important. She was just a scavenger. Just Rey, the orphan girl from Jakku who was never quite enough.</p><p>“Both.” Laya fixed Rey with a sharp gaze. Rey wanted to run and she wanted to stay forever. “And so much more.” She raised a hand and motioned Rey forward, and Rey had taken a step before she could stop herself. “Come. Let me show you the Force.”</p><p>“But I’m not—” Only the Jedi could use the Force. And the Jedi only existed in myths and legends. “I’m not a Jedi.”</p><p> “Do you really believe that?”</p><p>She hesitated, and she wasn’t sure why. Of course she wasn’t a Jedi! She couldn’t just be a Jedi. That wasn’t how things worked. “Yes,” she said, sounding less decided than she intended to. “Yes, I do believe that.”</p><p>Laya raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you’d like to prove it.” She jerked a nod toward the back of the cave. “It’s strongest in this cave. If you can’t sense it here, then I suppose I shall have to admit I was wrong—or the Force was wrong, as it were.”</p><p>Rey hesitated, then huffed and sat down. Fine. She would try whatever test the old woman gave her, and when it turned out she wasn’t anything special, she could go back to her life of traveling with the Doctor. Unimportant, untalented Rey. That was what she wanted. Right?</p><p>“Close your eyes.” Laya’s voice drifted around them like shifting smoke. “Close your eyes, and feel.”</p><p>“Feel what?” Rey closed her eyes and tried to feel something. What exactly was she looking for? Nothing. She wasn’t looking for anything. Of course she wasn’t. Because she <em>wasn’t a Jedi. </em></p><p>“Feel it surrounding us, binding us together.” Her voice filled the cave until Rey could almost feel it. A thread curled through it, silver and shimmering, like the light she’d seen around Laya a few moments ago. Almost unconsciously, she reached out to it, hoping to draw it closer. A thousand voices whispered at once, and yet they were all one voice, blending together and drawing closer, closer, closer. Just out of reach, a glimpse of something larger than she could ever have imagined—a chasm and a roofless sky all at once.</p><p>No.</p><p>She pulled back, gasping a little.</p><p>No, no, no! That wasn’t supposed to happen! She needed to get out of here, and now. None of this could be right, none of this could be happening. It wasn’t supposed to happen, it wasn’t, it wasn’t, it wasn’t. She jumped to her feet. “I’m leaving,” she blurted. “I’m never trying that again. Doctor—” She froze. “Where’s the Doctor?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Part 1 Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I named the ship the Scavenger. ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The <em>Scavenger </em>left Jakku almost exactly an hour after Finn had arrived.</p><p>They’d loaded boxes of goods—mostly junk, some of it usable junk—into the cargo hold and Rass had showed him around the little ship with a constant flow of lively commentary. It had been a nice ship in its time, Finn guessed, but now it looked like it’d seen its fair share of battles. He could hear Poe commenting that it had character, and he had to agree with the phantom-voice.</p><p>He could almost hear the echoes of all its adventures.</p><p>He climbed up out of the hold just as the ship took off, running to the window to watch it leave the desert planet behind. It faded to a brown ball hanging in space, then shot away into nothing as they hit hyperspeed. Captain Jada Haria turned in the cockpit and faced him.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” she said coolly. “You get used to it.”</p><p>He frowned. “Get used to what?”</p><p>“Taking off.” She raised an eyebrow. “You have the look of someone who’s never seen a planet disappear into space.”</p><p>Oh. He shook his head quickly. “I’ve done it before. Left a friend behind this time.” The minute the words were out, he regretted them. That had sounded wrong. Like he had abandoned someone. He wouldn’t do that. He hoped. He really, really hoped. “He didn’t make it,” he added quickly, then promptly decided to stop talking. He was about to spill something he shouldn’t if he let himself say any more.</p><p>“I’m going to go help Rass. I left him.” Yeah, he needed to shut his mouth. Not waiting for the captain to reply, he just turned and nearly ran back down to the hold.</p><p>Rass was there, puttering around and muttering to himself. He turned. “Ah! Get a good last look at the sand-planet?”</p><p>Finn nodded but didn’t say anything, just going back over to where he’d left off. He’d gotten a good five crates organized and stacked, but that wasn’t even half of what they had stored in here. And he’d started with the easiest, just to prove himself.</p><p>Rass laughed gave him a grin that showed two pointed teeth. “I suppose you think we’re a bit of a mess. Well, it’s mostly me. Captain Haria’d have this place spotless if she wasn’t busy flying half the time. And we <em>have </em>to update our records.” There was a keen look in his yellow, catlike eyes. “You know, I’d bet you’d be good at record-keeping. Care to take a look?”</p><p>Record keeping… “How did you know?” The words just came out. He’d overseen a record or two at Starkiller Base. He’d always liked it well enough…</p><p>Rass held up a finger. “You’ll find I’m <em>really </em>good at reading people. You…there’s something about you.” He stepped over to the interface, an old model that stuck out from the wall like a shelf. “Records on here. Take a look. You’re hiding something.”</p><p>Finn started. “Me?”</p><p>“No, I was talkin’ to the computer.” He snorted. “Of course, you. You’ve got secrets. There’s a certain look. You start to recognize it when you meet a lot of ‘em.” He turned away, his tone casual. “Now, I won’t ask questions. We’ve all got our pasts. Even Captain Haria, strange as that may seem.”</p><p>Finn looked away and stepped over to the computer. He wasn’t going to answer any of that. Nope. Records, records…there they were. Sheets of sales and acquisitions, typed out nicely…this wasn’t so bad. He ran a finger down the screen, stopping at <em>32 ABY. </em></p><p>Everything below that was a jumble of numbers and names that didn’t seem to have any coherent organization.</p><p>“Rass, the last good record is two years old.” It sounded so blunt, but he had to say it. These records were a <em>mess.</em></p><p>“I know, I know.” Rass waved a hand. “Haven’t had time. Things tend to be a bit crazy when you’re on the wanted list for two different planets.” He grinned. “Told ya we all had secrets.”</p><p>Somehow, that was strangely reassuring. Maybe they wouldn’t hate him if they found out. Still, he didn’t plan on telling either of the little crew anytime soon. Shaking his head slightly, he clicked on the latest set of data and started typing, bringing up a chart and getting the numbers in the right place. “So what do you two do?” He turned, leaning against the interface. “Just…travel around the galaxy and trade this stuff?”</p><p>“Mostly.” He nudged at a crate with his foot, and a bit of metal broke off and clattered to the ground. “Oh, we’ve got a boss we report back to and all that, but he’s a bit peculiar with his requests, mostly lets us run our own business.”</p><p>Finn shot him a quick glance. “What’s his name?”</p><p>“Don’t know, actually. Never seen his face.” Rass waved a hand. “But never mind that. Captain’s the authority on Lord No-Name. I’m just a little technician along for the ride.”</p><p>Lord who? Never seen his face?</p><p>Finn didn’t like the way that sounded. He didn’t like it at all.</p><p>For the first time, he started to truly wonder who these people were.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Part 1 Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, this chapter is basically just me having fun with descriptions.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Doctor?”</p><p>Rey’s voice echoed into the silence of the cave. She’d left the old woman behind, starting off into the corridor that led away into the darkness. He’d been muttering something about sensors and tracing when Laya had first mentioned the Force, so perhaps he’d run off to follow the signal and taken Commander Iria with him.</p><p>She only hoped it was that simple.</p><p>She rounded a corner, and the corridor opened abruptly into a large chamber, lit only by flickers of light bouncing in from the behind her…and the harsh shadows cast by a flashlight, which lay on the floor as if someone had dropped it there.  </p><p>She dropped to a crouch with a slight gasp and scooped it up. It was the Doctor’s.</p><p>“Doctor?” This time, it was hesitant. Almost afraid.</p><p>Nothing. Just the eerie echoes.</p><p>She took a step forward, sweeping the flashlight across the large space. It flickered and popped, casting strange flickering shadows from stalactites that dripped from the ceiling and the stalagmites that poked from the floor like miniature models of the silver spires outside. Her steps echoed off the high ceiling as she walked slowly through the cavern, peering into the shadows around her.</p><p>Nothing moved but her own shadow.</p><p>Something niggled at her mind. Her hand dropped to her side, still clutching the flashlight. She closed her eyes and took careful step forward, feeling the floor in front of her.</p><p>She could feel the cave around her as clearly as if it were flooded with light.</p><p>She didn’t stop to question it. She took a careful step forward, and then another one, and then she was nearly running through the cavern, swerving around the outcroppings and pillars, searching for the glowing presence of another soul. The cavern ceiling dipped, retreating into an uneven corridor, but she was still running, following a sense that drew her as strongly as the sense in the forest—or even stronger. She rounded a corner—</p><p>And slammed face-first into a cloud of light.</p><p>Her eyes popped open, and she realized she’d had them closed this whole time—and the light she’d just slammed into was, in fact, a person. She looked up quickly and found the Doctor’s arms around her—and then he was swinging her off the floor in a hug, and both of them were laughing.</p><p>“I didn’t know where you’d gone!” she blurted.</p><p>He set her down and grinned. “Yeah, I started getting the strangest signals and of course I had to follow them…” He whipped his sonic up and waved it in her face. It flashed an odd pattern at its tip, almost random but not quite. “If it wasn’t completely and utterly impossible, I would think it was something from Gallifrey—”</p><p>“Gallifrey?” Her eyes widened and she stared up at him. “You mean, your home planet? I thought—”</p><p>He waved a hand. “Completely impossible. Me and the TARDIS are the only things left of Gallifrey.” He turned, aiming the sonic down the corridor. “Thanks for the light, by the way. Have you ever tried to work by the light of a sonic screwdriver? It’s a real challenge.”</p><p>She lifted the flashlight and pointed it down the tunnel. “You worried me, dropping this like you’d gotten attacked or something.”</p><p>“Ah—guess I forgot about it. Probably just fell out. Iria’s taking a quick run back to her office by the way, I wanted a little specialized equipment. I’m pretty sure they’ve filled a whole <em>spire </em>with their equipment.” He grinned, then leaned to peer around a bend in the tunnel. “Ah! Here we are. Never have liked squeezing through cave tunnels.”</p><p>Rey peeked around him. The space opened up again, a maze of outcroppings and formations of flowing stone. She edged forward, absently handing him the flashlight. She wasn’t even sure he noticed himself taking it, but once she was free of it, she stepped out of the tunnel and looked around, lips parted in a half-uttered exclamation. It was beautiful—and they weren’t alone.</p><p>The realization came slowly, but with certainty. No, it wasn’t a person, or a being of any kind. It was the same sense she’d followed through the woods and through the cave tunnels, but stronger—so much stronger. She took a hesitant step forward, one hand stretching out as if she could touch it.</p><p>The darkness slammed into her mind with such force it nearly knocked her backward.</p><p>Images. Flashes of images, something seeping between them like oily blackness. Herself, standing before a great, dark throne, small before a robed figure. The Doctor, lying unconscious, or—something else, the floor beneath him smooth stone, worn away by age. She raised her hand and darkness flowed from it, tearing open like a wound. Stars behind it, shimmering then dying. Ripples spread out from her as if she stood in the middle of a pond, ripples of darkness and nothingness, seeping up into her and flowing into her core. The TARDIS, disappearing into nothing in the desert, then reappearing a moment later. As if watching a hologram, she saw herself running, the doors slamming closed as they careened through the universe, leaving the dalek forever behind. The ripples pooled at her feet, and she stood in the stars.</p><p>The light of the stars grew until it shimmered around her and she floated in it, her hair flowing out around her face like algae in a pond. All around her, something rippled—darkness—no, not darkness, simple nothingness. As if, beyond some shimmering veil, a void pulsed, ready to blot out the starlight.</p><p>She closed her eyes and leaned into it.</p><p>The nothingness washed over her. It was thick, and dark, and almost intoxicating, drawing her forward to step into it and melt away.</p><p>She dragged herself back, gasping. It ripped from her middle as if a hook was embedded there, sending ripples through the light—and then she was standing before the great throne again, a wind catching her hair, laughing with the fading voices of the dark.</p><p>The Doctor lay dead below her, blood pooled around him.  </p><p>Her eyes popped open, her heart pounding in her ears.</p><p>She was laying slumped on the floor of the winding cavern—and the Doctor was crouched beside her. Alive—and worried.</p><p>“Doctor—” She pushed herself up. Her core hurt with a dull ache that spread through her whole body. “I saw—” She hugged her arms around herself and bent over, gasping a little. “I saw—” Somehow, she didn’t dare tell him everything she’d seen. His face flashed before her again, bloodied and pale. “I saw a void, and it ripped, and there were stars—”</p><p>“Void?” His eyebrows shot up. “Did you say—void?”</p><p>She nodded painfully. “It was nothing—nothingness. There was nothing. It ripped, I thought it was going to blot out the stars—”</p><p>His mouth dropped open, and he stared at her. “Rey—oh, you absolute genius! You’ve got it!”</p><p>She winced as his shout echoed through the cave. “Got—what?”</p><p>“That’s why it looked like the machine from Gallifrey!” The words nearly tripped over each other. “Used it to keep the walls between the universes stable, fascinating thing, but it had traces of the void in it. You know, the stuff between the universe. Dropped the dalek in there, back a few months ago. I don’t know how you did it, Rey, but you saw the void.”</p><p>The statement rang true. The void…the way it had ripped… “Doctor…”</p><p>He held up a finger, his words barely keeping up with his thoughts. “But that’s the thing, you’re not supposed to see the void. It’s supposed to be trapped away outside the universes. Which means…oh. Ohhhhh.” He jumped to his feet and began to pace, his eyes darkening. “Oh, that’s not good. That’s not good at all.”</p><p>Rey forced herself up, grabbing onto a pillar of stone and edging over to lean against it. Her head pounded, and every time the Doctor moved, she saw him dead before her, like two images layered across each other. She frowned, trying to process his words. “Doctor, what—”</p><p>“That means there’s a rip in the walls of the universe. And <em>that </em>means…” He came to a stop in front of her, his eyes dark. “That means they’re collapsing.”   </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Part 1 Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*insert ominous music here*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Finn had the records mostly in order when Rass wandered off. He had to admit he was glad for the quiet—the little man seemed nice enough, but he didn’t like the way he seemed to see right through him, and he needed to think.</p><p>What he needed to think about, he wasn’t exactly sure.</p><p>He hardly had to think about organizing, that was for sure. He’d gotten most of the sales and acquisitions in a nice list with labels attached, he should really get back to the mess that was the cargo hold. He’d done it enough back on Starkiller Base—keeping the store-rooms clean and organized.</p><p>It would let him think.</p><p>About…something.</p><p>He could’ve gone back to the Resistance if Poe hadn’t—if they hadn’t crashed in the desert. He didn’t want to think about the fact that the man who’d rescued him and give him his name—<em>given </em>him his <em>name—</em>was lying in some sandy grave, not even honored with a burial, the only thing left of him the brown jacket that hung over the crate at Finn’s side. Without Poe, the Resistance wouldn’t accept him. Probably. They’d think he was a spy. Wouldn’t they?</p><p>Yesterday, he’d been a stormtrooper.</p><p>Now, he was—what was he now?  </p><p>These people he’d gotten in with obviously weren’t Resistance people. They were smugglers at best, but what had Rass meant by referring to their boss as <em>lord? </em></p><p>He hefted the last crate onto a three-crate-high stack, hardly realizing that he’d been organizing and categorizing this whole time, filing the information away into some back corner of his mind, overshadowed by his thoughts of Poe. He should write all this down. Rass and Captain Haria would appreciate having their supply records current.</p><p>He stepped back over to the computer and brought up the records with a few key-taps, clicking aside from sales to supply records. To his surprise, they actually seemed rather organized—up to about a year ago. Okay. This was going to take some work. He scrolled through the dizzying mess of numbers, names, and dates, scanning to get a feel for what was what. <em>Deliveries to the Yavin System, Jakku, Darran—</em></p><p>He froze.</p><p>Darran. Why did the name sound so familiar? He’d heard it before. He knew he had. He heard it echoing down the halls of Starkiller Base as he marched by, heading back to quarters after a long day. <em>Darran, the dark planet. </em></p><p>The dark planet.</p><p>He searched around in his memories almost desperately. The dark planet? What in the galaxy did that mean? It didn’t sound good, and it was all he could remember. The dark planet…Darran…nothing. There was nothing. Just a name and a descriptor that sounded like something out of an old legend.</p><p>
  <em>The dark planet. </em>
</p><p>What had he gotten himself into?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Part 1 Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>At this point I've just given up on research and am just making up random vaguely sci-fi seeming technology.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The universe is breaking apart!”</p><p>Rey and the Doctor careened into Iria’s office, BB8 nearly tripping them. They’d gone running out of the cave, Rey giving a hasty glance to Laya, and the Doctor had whipped his key out, the TARDIS materializing in the forest a moment later. The TARDIS had dropped in the hallway outside Iria’s office nearly before Rey could take a breath. Her head still pounded and her middle hurt as if she’d been punched in the stomach, but she needed to keep up with the Doctor’s flurry of revelations. Iria glanced up from an array of small machines that spread across her desk.</p><p>“The Force is leaking through the cracks—”</p><p>“I knew it reminded me of something from Gallifrey—”</p><p>Iria raised an eyebrow. “Can you tell me what’s happening in a basically coherent manner, or am I going to have to ask your droid to translate for you?”</p><p>The Doctor raked his fingers through his hair. “No, no, don’t do that, I don’t think he can understand us any better than you can—it’s just that the walls between the universes are weakening, and—”</p><p>“I had a vision,” Rey blurted, then stared wide-eyed at the commander. She shouldn’t just go around telling people she had visions, should she? No, she hadn’t <em>had </em>a vision. Something had grabbed hold of her and <em>given </em>her the vision—she wasn’t—she didn’t have visions. “I mean, I saw something breaking, and darkness spilling out.”</p><p>“And I got a signal that looked a <em>lot </em>like the multiverse modulator from Ga—a planet I knew a long time ago, which seemed <em>really</em> weird, but then I remembered it always had traces of void energy in it—”</p><p>Iria just looked at them, her expression cool. “Short version, please.”</p><p>The Doctor cleared his throat. “Ah—well. Short version is, there’s a tear in the fabric of the universe, and we could be in really big trouble if we don’t fix it.”</p><hr/><p>Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the cave, this time with a pile of machines, a few dredged from the heart of the TARDIS and the others collected from Iria’s desk. She’d suggested she call her official investigators, but the Doctor had waved it off with a comment on how investigators always complicated things. So here they were, just the two of them and BB8, Iria staying behind to call in an incident report—a compromise, letting the Doctor go running into the middle of things for a bit—and close out Laya’s missing persons case.</p><p>Rey set the last machine down with a huff. It was a clunky thing and it looked like it had been cobbled together from spare parts, one side of full of dials and levers, the other clear glass that looked into some sort of engine-compartment. She plopped down beside it, closing her eyes and trying to take a few deep breaths.</p><p>The Doctor didn’t seem to want to wait for everything to stop hurting.</p><p>“Perfect!” His voice echoed through the cave and seemed to explode in her ears as he dashed over and dropped to a crouch beside the machine. “Okay, let’s see here—ah, you’ve gotten rusty, haven’t you?” His hands flew over the gauges and controls as he muttered to himself about settings and sensitivity and a lot of other things that didn’t seem to enter Rey’s head. He sat back on his heels and gave it a pat. “There we go. Traces inconsistencies in the time-space continuum, so it’ll be doing the heavy lifting here. All these…” he swept a hand across the three radio-like devices that sat beside him, “are basically for fine-tuning, the Spirian Forces didn’t have anything really tuned-in on void-sensing but I can’t blame them, haven’t encountered this sort of thing, most likely. But they’ll help though, this one might be a little rusty. Haven’t needed it for….ehh, 200 years now? Alright, initializing…” He flicked a lever…</p><p>…and it snapped off.</p><p>Rey closed her eyes and sighed. “Doctor, don’t you think we should be a little more prepared for something this…big?”</p><p>He jumped to his feet. “Prepared? Nah, that takes all the fun out of it.” He grinned and crouched down again, fiddling with the broken lever.</p><p>Rey stood, turning away from his near-constant movement. The void pulled at her again, threaded through with something like starlight, like the halo that had surrounded Laya. She frowned. It couldn’t <em>really </em>be the Force, could it? The legendary power of the Jedi? If it was, how could she sense it? She wasn’t a Jedi.</p><p>Right?</p><p>Beeping screeched through the cave.</p><p>Rey whirled, her hand flying to her lightsaber, fingers closing around the hard metal of the hilt. The Doctor crouched beside the largest machine, grinning wildly. “I’m getting a signal!” He nudged the box with his foot, and a small door popped open and a cord fell out. “Now, we just need to get this plugged into—” He snatched the end of the cord and dashed into the TARDIS. Rey took off after him. He wasn’t about to go running off somewhere without her!</p><p>“What are we doing?” She skidded through the doors and tried to follow his movements. “Where—”</p><p>“Looks like we’ve found the source.” The cord snapped into an outlet below the console, and the Doctor poked his head up. “We’re going to take a look.”</p><p>“Okay…” Rey edged through the doors a little more, in case it decided to dematerialize without her. The Doctor jumped up, flicked a lever, and the doors slammed closed behind her, the wire trailing out under them.</p><p>She started and took a step forward, sudden uncertainty bleeding through her. BB8 bumped at her ankles, and she gave him an absent nudge. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were about to step off the edge of a cliff—one they might not be able to return from.  </p><p>The light pulsed up and down the core, and then faded out as the TARDIS settled in place with a thump. Rey snatched at the doors, her heart pounding in her ears.</p><p>She looked out on a boggy wasteland.</p><p>Slimy plants jutted up from wet, sucking mud, and a little ways away, some scraggly trees grew. Pockets of fog drifted up like ghosts.</p><p>“Where are we?” She turned to the Doctor, searching his face. Something niggled at her mind, small as a single spark but as certain as the Doctor’s presence beside her.</p><p>She hadn’t needed to ask the question. Because she already knew its answer.</p><p>“I think we’re in another universe,” he said.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>End of Part 1. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Part 2 Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Honestly, I was just having fun with descriptions again here, lol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey took a hesitant step out the TARDIS doors.</p><p>Algae squished around her shoes, and bog-plants straggled up through the mud. Behind her, BB8 made a disgusted beep-wobble. She turned to see him squish-rolling through the mud, head tilted at the ground. The TARDIS seemed to have found the one stable place on the planet and was planted nicely on a bit of rock that stuck up from the mush. Rey wrinkled her nose and extricated her foot from a stringing tendril of algae that had wrapped around her leg and stuck there like a slimy snake.</p><p>The Doctor was already bounding away, one of the smaller machines stuck under his arm and his sonic in front of him, splashing up mud as he went. “Seems we’ve landed right on top of the epicenter!” He stopped and turned in a slow circle, one eyebrow raised. “Now this…this looks like a completely normal bog. Nothing universe tear-y about it. You’d think you’d see it. That sort of thing usually looks a bit wobbly.” He swept his sonic around, made a frustrated grumble-noise, and shoved it in his pocket. “Ah—not very good for sensing universe-rippiness, sonics.” He maneuvered the larger device out from under his arm and waved it around. Shiny, clean, and white, it looked oddly out of place in the muddy bog.</p><p>Much like Iria would’ve, if she’d come with them.</p><p>Rey watched, her feet sinking deeper and deeper into the mud. They were in another universe. Was it hers? Was this where the Force was coming from, leaking through the walls of the universes? She closed her eyes, a curious frown tugging her lips. Could she feel it?</p><p>She’d lived here her whole life. Surely she would’ve known if she could connect with the Force.</p><p>A shout from the Doctor brought her eyes open. BB8 screeched. She pulled one foot out of the mud as she scanned the bog, preparing to run. Where had he gone? He didn’t seem to be—</p><p>Wait.</p><p>A hand and a brown sleeve poked up from the mud, swiftly disappearing.</p><p>She took off toward the hand, sloshing through muddy water and algae, but he had disappeared beneath the surface with a gurgle before she could take two steps.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Part 2 Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Writing this chapter from Rey's POV when she doesn't know Finn's name yet was...a challenge... :P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Doctor?”</p><p>Rey dropped to a crouch and stuck her hand into the mud, down, down, down until she was up to her shoulder, algae brushing against her cheek. Nothing. What had happened? Quicksand, or something like it?  She yanked her arm out, jumped to her feet, and stepped right on top of the place where the Doctor had disappeared.</p><p>Her feet sank into the mud but stopped until she was up to her ankles—and stopped, resting on something solid. Well, relatively solid.  </p><p>She let out a frustrated growl. Was this the wrong place? Maybe she was a little off. She pulled one foot out, and then the other, the ground making a slurping, sucking noise as she stepped one step to the left, then to the right. Not solid, but not squishy enough to suck a person down. She turned in a slow circle, scanning the ground for any suspicious shadows that might bely some hidden crevasse—</p><p>The whine of a ship entering the atmosphere brought her head up and she scanned the sky for the telltale blue streak of the engines. There—still a dot, like a star. She half-ran half-sloshed into the shadow of the small clump of trees, keeping her eye on the spot. With any luck, they’d land and get out of here as soon as possible, and she could go back and investigate.</p><p>She clenched her fists and leaned back against the nearest tree, the bark so wet and slimy she could feel it through her shirt. The Doctor could be—no. No, surely not. Maybe he’d fallen through to something beneath—</p><p>Something squished beside her and her eyes snapped open, one hand going to her lightsaber.</p><p>BB8 stood at her feet, covered in a thick layer of mud and looking as disgruntled as a droid could.</p><p>She huffed and hoped the water wasn’t leaking into his systems.</p><p>The ship came in fast, shooting toward the ground a good hundred feet away. For a moment it seemed it would take a nosedive into the ground, but it quickly leveled out, and four feet emerged, sinking deep into the bog and leaving the ship about a foot above the ground. With a hydraulic whoosh, the boarding ramp lowered, and a small person came trotting down, speaking into something on his wrist. He had wrinkled dark skin, yellow cat-like eyes, and as he spoke, she could see his slightly-pointed teeth. She’d never seen his kind before, even on Jakku.</p><p>He was followed by a tall woman, presumably human, with tan skin and dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, wearing a camouflage uniform, pants tucked into heavy boots, some kind of insignia on her jacket. Just behind her, a dark-skinned human, no older than Rey and wearing a scuffed brown jacket that didn’t quite match his all-black ensemble, followed with a crate in his arms. His glanced darted around and he hesitated before stepping off the ramp and into the mud, pulling his foot up quickly and then setting it back down. Even from her distance, Rey could see his grip on the crate tighten.</p><p>BB8 let out a screech. Rey started and turned. He sloshed forward, propelling himself through the mud by sheer force of will, it seemed. Her hand shot out to grab him by the head or something, but he was already gone, bouncing off toward the ship and letting out a string of beeps and whistles. Hardly processing what he was saying—something about <em>thief, jacket, Poe—</em>Rey took off after him. No one was going to hurt her droid!</p><p>All three strangers turned at once. The woman drew her blaster, the little cat-eyed man began muttering into his wrist-communicator, and the man with the jacket promptly dropped his crate. Rey tackled BB8, arms around him, and they both went rolling through the mud.</p><p>As soon as they’d stopped sliding, she sat up quickly, one hand above her head and one arm around the droid, who wiggled and beeped.</p><p>“Don’t shoot!” She didn’t dare stand, but she tried to look the woman, clearly the leader, in the eye. “My droid was misbehav—”</p><p>BB8 let out another series and beeps and his head swiveled toward the man who now had a broken crate at his feet, and was staring wide-eyed at the two of them. Rey glanced back at BB8. “Did you say—”</p><p>BB8 took advantage of the opportunity. He slipped out from her arm and nearly launched himself at the man, who now had a broken crate and a slew of parts sinking into the mud at his feet. His eyes widened and he stumbled backward just before the droid slammed into him, sending him onto his back in the mud.</p><p>The woman’s hand tightened on her blaster.</p><p>Rey stood, holding up a hand as if to pacify her. “Look, I can’t speak for the droid, but—”</p><p>“What’s he saying?” the man squeaked from the ground, where he currently had a very heavy droid sitting on his chest.</p><p>“BB8, get off of him. He’s saying—what?” Rey’s eyes narrowed. “He says you’re a thief who stole his master’s jacket.” She marched forward and shoved BB8 off his chest with her foot. Just because he might be shady was no reason from the droid to crush him. She leaned down, grabbed his arm, and yanked him to his feet, fixing him with a steady glare. “Who are you, and how do you know my droid?”</p><p>He yanked his arm out of her grip and held both hands up, taking a careful step backward. “I’ve never—I’ve never seen this droid before in my life.” His breaths came in quick, short bursts and his eyes darted to the little cat-eyed man, who had stepped a bit away and was speaking into his communicator again. “Look, we—”</p><p>The little man had stopped talking now, and his hand dropped to his side, snatching something shiny and silver from his waist. Handcuffs. He smiled, pointed teeth showing between his lips. “The boss wants to speak to you, miss.” He held up the handcuffs, dangling them between his fingers. “And if you don’t come quietly, I’ll have to use these.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Part 2 Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WHOO FINN</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For a moment, silence.</p><p>Rey’s hand went to her lightsaber. The woman’s finger tightened on her blaster. The man with the jacket stared at her, his face shifting from fear to uncertainty to resolve in a split second. Rey had just opened her mouth to say <em>something, </em>tell BB8 to run, shout at them that they <em>weren’t </em>getting away with taking her to some shadowy boss-person, when—</p><p>“Oh no you don’t.” The set of his jaw was determined, and he sounded like he was forcing back a waver in his voice. He took a deep breath, let it out, and glanced between Rey and his fellow crew-members. Thoughts flitted across his face. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”</p><p>The woman’s hand didn’t move, her finger dangerously close to the trigger. She leveled him with a cool look. “And who are you to give us orders, Finn-nobody?”</p><p>Finn-nobody? Running in the back of Rey’s mind like a background sequence, her reflexes forced her to take a step backward, ready to run, but she couldn’t help staring at him. What did the woman mean?</p><p>“I don’t know—who you’re working for, but I know it’s nobody good.” He took a step through the swamp toward Rey, his glance urging her to run. “And I’m not letting you take an innocent person to him.”</p><p>The woman’s eyes narrowed.</p><p>The cat-eyed man jingled the handcuffs. “Come on, buddy. I liked you…”</p><p>In less than a second, Finn had grabbed Rey’s hand, shouted <em>run, </em>and then they were sloshing across the swamp, BB8 bouncing at their heels, spewing up water and mud behind them. Rey jerked her hand away from his, shouted something about <em>I can run on my own—</em>she wasn’t really sure what she said, because the shot that seared across the swamp interrupted her. She grabbed Finn by the arm and yanked him into the shadow the forest.</p><p>She gave a quick nod to the TARDIS, bright against the dull greys and greens of the swamp. “That one’s my ship. They won’t be able to get inside. We need to make a run for it.”</p><p>He nodded about three times, his breath coming in short gasps. “Your ship. Right.” He poked his head around the tree—and another shot seared across the swamped.</p><p>Rey pulled him back with a growl. “Stay hidden until I say go!”</p><p>He nodded again. “Right. Right.”</p><p>They were coming…they needed to get out of here… “Go! Now!” She grabbed him by the arm and took off with him stumbling behind her, winding between the scraggly trees and toward the open again. A <em>thwang</em> echoed through the air and Rey stumbled to the side as Finn shoved her—just before a dart thunked into a tree about a foot away.</p><p>She glanced at him. “Thanks.” She yanked it out, glanced at it, then dropped it into the mud. “Tranquilizer,” she muttered before taking off for the TARDIS again. Finn didn’t seem to have anything to say, just splashed along behind her as they emerged from the forest, dove across the swamp, and nearly smacked into the ship’s doors. She stumbled backward, grabbed the handle, and tugged.</p><p>“Locked!” She snatched at the key, dragging it out from under her shirt.</p><p>“Can you get us in?” Finn blurted.</p><p>“Working on it,” she snapped. Another shot fizzled in the water a foot away, and she fumbled for the keyhole. She could do this. She could do this! A dart whizzed through the air and slammed, quivering, into the wood on the outside of the TARDIS. She shoved the key toward the keyhole—and missed.</p><p>The lock clicked, and the door opened anyway.</p><p>Right. The connection. Didn’t need an actual key—</p><p>They both tumbled inside, BB8 a second behind, and Rey grabbed the door and yanked it closed. BB8 screeched and kept rolling until he slammed into the console, then stopped with a disgruntled beep. Rey jumped to her feet, and her eyes met Finn’s.</p><p>For a moment, they just stared at each other, breathing hard.</p><p>Finn started to say something, then closed his mouth, turned, and stared.</p><p>“Are you sure this is the right ship? It’s—”</p><p>Rey couldn’t help a grin. “Bigger on the inside?”</p><p>“But that’s not—” He rubbed a hand across his face, closed his eyes for a moment, then glanced back and forth between the door and the console. “That’s completely—”</p><p>Rey darted to the console. “Amazing? Fascinating?” She jerked her head away from the door. “Come on, there’s no guarantee it locked itself, and they’ll be here any—”</p><p>A shot sizzled against the door, making it shake.</p><p>“—minute now.”</p><p>Finn jumped away from the door and was at Rey’s side in two strides. “So how do you fly this thing?”</p><p>She glanced around the console, then up at Finn.</p><p>“I hope I know,” she said.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Part 2 Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just really, really wanted to write a scene where Finn and Rey had to fly the TARDIS together, lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey’s hand went to the nearest lever and stopped an inch away. “Okay, engage vortex—no, not those.” She moved around the console, conscious of Finn’s eyes on her. Somehow, that didn’t help. She brushed a hand over another lever, closing her eyes and trying to remember the Doctor’s startup routine. She could do this. She’d watched him more times than she could count. She could fly the ship on her own now, surely.</p><p>She took a deep breath and let it out.</p><p>She could do this.</p><p>“Okay, we need vortex thrusters—wait, no, not vortex, that’s too risky—wait, yes. Vortex. Time coordinates.” Another shot seared into the TARDIS doors. “That lever there!”</p><p>Finn’s hand moved to the section of the console she knew to be inside/outside orientation. “No!” she snapped. “To your left—two—the blue lever.” She slipped around the console, hands hovering over the vortex thrusters, ready to engage the minute he’d flipped the lever. “No, not that blue lever—no, don’t touch that one!” she nearly shouted as his hand moved to the joystick that controlled their movement through the time vortex. “You’ll send us all—yes! That one! Right there! Flip it! We need to lock the time coordinates, the last thing we need is to end up in another time—”</p><p>His hand stopped an inch away from the lever. “Did you say—time coordinates?”</p><p>“Yes, long story, it’s a time-ship and a space-ship, does both.” Her hands moved back and forth over the controls, trying to remember the Doctor’s movements. Set coordinates, somewhere far away. She wasn’t sure where, but they could regroup when they were out of the range of blaster-shots. Set vortex thrusters, ready to engage. Everything in place. “But you’ve locked it now, so we’ll just travel through space. I hope.”</p><p>Finn jerked his hand away from the lever. “You hope?”</p><p>Rey took a deep breath, grabbed a lever, and thrust it forward. The TARDIS jerked, sending her against the console with a slight gasp, and then steadied.</p><p>She stepped back, barely daring to breathe.</p><p>Where were they? Had she done it?</p><p>“What’s happening?” Finn’s voice cut through the room and she started and snapped back to reality. She needed to see where they were. She slipped around the edge of the console. What did those coordinates mean? Were they in space, or had they moved at all? They looked different… “I think we’re somewhere else. Probably somewhere in space.”</p><p>“In space? But we didn’t leave the atmosphere!”</p><p>“We <em>teleported. </em>The ship does that.”</p><p>“Telep—this is a hell of a ship!” Rey wasn’t sure if that was admiration or fear in his voice, but she had to agree.</p><p>She grinned. “Isn’t she?”</p><p>Finn returned the grin, and for a moment they just stood there grinning at each other like a pair of excited children.</p><p>Rey shook her head. “Anyway…we need to go back.”</p><p>“Wait—go back?” The grin disappeared, and he stared at her. “No, we need to—”</p><p>“The Doctor’s back there,” she said. “He—this is his ship. He’s my friend. I need to find him.” She moved back to the vortex thruster controls. Okay. Set coordinates again, this time to the place they’d been. Maybe by now, the rest of Finn’s crew had given up and headed off wherever they were going to go. No, not those coordinates, those were time coordinates and they were locked. She glanced at the lever Finn had flipped, half-expecting it to flip itself back. She wouldn’t put it past the ship to do something like that.</p><p>“Oh…” Finn seemed to hesitate, started to say something, then stopped. His expression turned curious, then soft, then almost afraid. Her eyes met his, and part of her wanted to ask him what he was going to say.</p><p>“Do you…have a home?” The words came out softly. “Anywhere to go?”</p><p>He glanced away. Fear again, but this time it was a different kind of fear. “I—”</p><p>“Come with us! Me and the Doctor. We can show you the universe!”</p><p>For a moment he stared at her, his dark eyes both confused and amazed, thoughts flitting across his face. “Who <em>is </em>the Doctor?”</p><p>“He’s—amazing.” Her lips twitched up in a smile. “He can take you anywhere you want to go, to the past or the future, or—anywhere. But I’ve lost him.” As the words slipped out, the reality of the situation tumbled back down. “We’re going back.” Her hand closed on the lever—and she froze as Finn blurted,</p><p>“Wait. Does this thing have blasters?”</p><p>His eyes darted across the console, then went to a chair off to the side. She shook her head quickly. “No, no blasters. There are shields, though. Wait. Turn on the shields.” She hadn’t seen the Doctor use the shields before…where were they? She scanned across the array of buttons and levers.   How did the Doctor remember it all?</p><p>
  <em>Shields online!</em>
</p><p>The computerized voice echoed through the console and she started and immediately looked to Finn. He stood, his hand over a large rounded button.  </p><p>“Were those the shields?” he said.</p><p>A little laugh escaped. “Finn—”</p><p>He glanced up at her. “There’s a label.”</p><p>She looked down. Beside the button, a round cylinder with a dashed line around it was etched into the metal of the console.</p><p>Of course…shields.</p><p>She couldn’t help a little grin as she shoved the lever forward again. The light flashed up and down the console, and the console jerked forward—and they landed with a crunch, throwing both Finn and Rey forward. At their feet, BB8 let out a disgruntled beep.</p><p>A sound like that of something bouncing off a stretchy surface echoed dully through the room, and Rey glanced up. A shot against the shields?</p><p>Finn’s hand went to his side, and she saw his fingers close around a blaster. She looked up, staring into the core, the light still now. “Take me to the Doctor,” she whispered.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Of course. <em>Now </em>the soul that was hiding in there decided to hide. <em>Now </em>it wouldn’t talk to her. Was it trying to get her to do it herself? <em>Please…just help me find him…</em></p><p>Still nothing.</p><p>She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. They needed to go down, below the swamp. If the Doctor was—she cut off the thought. They’d find him there. Maybe he’d gotten sucked into some kind of hole or—or cave, or something. Her eyes popped open and she started typing in coordinates. She grabbed a lever—</p><p>And the room slid sideways. </p><p>Finn grabbed onto the side of the console. “Was that supposed to happen?” he blurted.</p><p>“Uh…” Rey’s eyes widened. “No, no it wasn’t. That wasn’t…” She dashed around to the alignment controls. Something pinged off the doors again. A shot—they were still above-ground? What had gone wrong?</p><p>“They’re shooting at us!” Finn skidded around, grabbing the second viewscreen and tilting it roughly toward him. “To your right—”</p><p>“Okay, where are we?” Rey glanced at the other screen, her hands moving nervously across the steering. She could do this. She—wait, she could actually do this. This was flying, and she knew how to maneuver a ship. No messing with time or space coordinates, just flying.</p><p>She sent the ship careening to the left, then tilting back to the right as a tree zoomed past on the screen.</p><p>“Tree to your right,” Finn nearly shouted, and Rey jerked it to the side again. He glanced up at her. “These shields holding?”</p><p>“I think so!” She brought the ship around toward the edge of the forested area, searching the viewscreen for running figures. There. A small man with a blaster was dashing toward them. She took off through the forest, the ship wobbling back and forth like a bell hanging from a bell-tower, skidding between trees and skimming just above the marshy ground.</p><p>“To your left—”</p><p>Rey pulled the ship to the right as a shot sizzled against the shields, and a last tree zoomed past the viewscreen—and they popped out into the open. At the edge of the screen, she saw Finn’s ship, planted in the mud. She yanked on the brakes, and then they were standing still, gasping.</p><p>The room stopped swaying.</p><p>For a moment, Rey just stared across the console at Finn.</p><p>“I did it—”</p><p>“That was amazing—”</p><p>“I couldn’t have done it without—”</p><p>“You helped—”</p><p>And then she was running around, and his arms were around her and her feet were flying off the ground, and they were laughing.</p><p>A shout echoed through the doors.</p><p>The laughter stopped in a flash of a second, and Rey had made a decision less than a second later. She dashed around the console and skidded to a stop, fingers immediately flying over the coordinates. This time, she’d make it work. Down. She just needed <em>down. </em>Beneath the ground. Inside the planet, where the Doctor had gone. As the sound of splashing and shouting grew closer, she gave the lever a yank.</p><p>The ship jerked, and then settled into place with a slight sway.</p><p>“It’s usually a thump…” She ran to the doors and threw them open, Finn and BB8 just behind her.</p><p>They looked out into a cave tunnel. And the TARDIS was hanging a few feet above the ground, its top caught in the stone above.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Part 2 Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In which Finn and Rey are adorable and I want to smush their faces together.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey eyed the ground for a moment then jumped, landing in a crouch and springing back up. So she’d materialized it a bit wrong—at least it was stuck firmly enough in the stone that no one could steal it. She looked back up at the open doorway and held out a hand.</p><p>Finn took it, his hand warm against hers as he sat down, swung his legs over the edge, and dropped to the floor. He didn’t let go for a long moment, and his eyes met hers. Worry shone in them.</p><p>She looked away, shook her head, and glanced back up at the TARDIS.</p><p>BB8 sat just at the edge, nearly quivering, his head tilted downward.</p><p>“Come on…” She slipped her hand from Finn’s and held out her arms, as if she could catch the droid. “It’s only a few feet…”</p><p>BB8, apparently, took her up on the implied offer, and a second later she was laying on the floor with twenty pounds of droid on top of her. She let out a little cry and wiggled, forcing him to roll off.</p><p>“Okay, that hurt…” she managed to gasp out, rubbing her chest as she sat up.</p><p>She nearly ran face-first into Finn, who was crouched before her, a worried frown crinkling his forehead.</p><p>She squeaked and wiggled backward, wincing. That was definitely a bruise, if not something worse. “I hope I didn’t break anything…I’m fine.” Waving off the help she knew he’d offer, she jumped up.</p><p>He stood, reaching out and putting a hand on her arm. “Are you sure? Droids are heavy.”</p><p>“Yeah.” She glanced away. His hand was warm. She didn’t shake it off. “I’m sure.”</p><p>For a moment she wondered if he was going to pull her into a hug again.</p><p>“Anyway…” She hesitated, glanced back at him, then turned to take in their surroundings. “Where are we?”</p><p>They stood in a dank cave, electric lights embedded in the walls casting stark shadows around them. The tunnel ran off into the distance and turned a corner, the floor covered in mud, and the only sound was the slow, steady echo of water dripping.</p><p>She tilted her head back at the ceiling. “The Doctor could be here.” The ceiling seemed mostly stone, but the water had to be coming from somewhere. “He fell through the ground just before you landed. I’m going to look for him.”</p><p>“I’m going with you.”</p><p>It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go, but there was something behind the words that made her turn to him with a little smile.</p><p>“Come on, then.”</p><p>She started down the corridor, scanning the muddy floor for prints or any other indicators that someone else had been here. There, it looked like something had skidded across the floor, a long smear in the mud. Perhaps he’d landed here? She looked up. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, landing with a plop on her cheek. She reached up and swiped it off. Part of her wanted to stick her tongue out and catch it like it was raining. The thought brought a little smile to her lips, but a moment later she realized it was swamp water. It would probably taste nasty.</p><p>Well, the Doctor could’ve fallen here. The mud was scuffed around, the stone beneath it showing in places, as if someone had wiped it off. And just beyond that—an oval, slightly distorted by dripping water, that could be a footprint, a scuff leading from it. She followed it forward. Another oval, and another—someone had walked here. She turned to Finn, grinning.</p><p>“I think I’ve found his trail!”</p><p>She stepped forward, placing her foot in the oval, then stepping to the next one. Definitely footsteps, from someone with longer legs than her. It had to be the Doctor. It had to.</p><p>Her foot landed on a flurry of scuffs, footprints smeared in a wild dance before evening out about ten feet down the corridor—but this time, there were two sets.</p><p>She could almost hear the shouting and the scuffling, echoing down the hallway like cries of ghosts.</p><p>She caught her breath. Had he been captured? Taken—where?</p><p>“Who exactly are we looking for?” Finn’s voice echoed down tunnel from a bit behind her, accompanied by the gentle rasp of BB8 rolling along beside him. “What does he look like?”</p><p>“Oh.” She stopped and turned. Right. She hadn’t ever explained exactly who the Doctor was. “He’s—tall, with sort of wild short hair, looks…” She frowned. She’d thought him young at first, but she’d learned to see the years in his eyes. “About my age, I suppose, but he’s not.” She kept her eyes on the triple set of footprints. If she just followed it to its end, maybe it would lead them to the Doctor.</p><p>“What—is he, you and him…”</p><p>“He’s my friend.” Rey stopped and turned, her eyes meeting Finn’s. “My best friend. But not…” She felt herself flushing, just a bit. “Not like…that.”</p><p>“Oh.” Finn didn’t say anything more, and she couldn’t decipher his tone. Not disappointed. Was it…confused? Happy? Wondering if she was telling him the whole story?</p><p>She looked back at the footprints. “How did you meet BB8’s owner?”</p><p>“Poe?” Finn’s voice wavered, just a bit. “He got me—we flew together. Once, I mean. The ship crashed—”</p><p>The scuffing of BB8’s rolling stopped.</p><p>Finn hesitated.</p><p>“He didn’t make it out.”</p><p>Rey turned quickly, searching his face. BB8’s head drooped, and he let out a long, slow beep.</p><p>“Oh.” She crouched down and gave BB8 an absent pat. “He was your friend, then…”</p><p>Finn nodded, but didn’t say anything.</p><p>Rey looked at him for a long moment. There was more to the story, more he either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her. Was he fleeing from something? Someone? Was he in danger? He’d said he didn’t have a home. She sighed and straightened up, overcome with the urge to hug him again. “Please—come with us.”</p><p>Finn glanced away. “We need to find him first. We don’t know how much time he’s got.”</p><p>“Right.” Rey turned back to the marks on the floor. They followed the tunnel as it curved sharply, the scuffs becoming sparser, the floor drier, and the drip of water less steady. The electric lights seemed brighter, their covers cleaner. Had they been going downhill all this time? Did the unnamed <em>boss</em> live deep in the core of the planet like some sort of cave creature?</p><p>What <em>was</em> he?</p><p>Rey peeked around the corner, Finn coming up just behind her and looking over her shoulder, BB8 stopping and tilting his head to the side so his single black eye could peer around them.</p><p>The tunnel split into two, one running away into the distance, looking much the same as the tunnel they stood in, the other fading quickly into velvet-black underground darkness.</p><p>“Which way do we go?” Finn’s whisper echoed down both tunnels, the echoes layering eerily, making echoes of their own.</p><p>Rey’s fingers tightened on the smooth stone of the corner. “I don’t know,” she said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Part 2 Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In which Finn and Rey are still adorable and I still want to smush their faces together.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I don’t know. </em>
</p><p>Rey’s words echoed into silence, swallowed by the <em>drip, drip, drip </em>of water from behind them. She looked back and forth. The darker tunnel seemed to call to her, as if pulling her to take a step forward into the shadows. She hesitated, tensing, resisting as if an invisible hand tugged at her.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Finn hissed.</p><p>“Nothing,” she snapped, barely glancing at him. “I don’t know.”</p><p>If they’d captured the Doctor, they would’ve taken him to whatever sort of prison they had here, or taken him straight to the person in charge, whoever he was. The shadowy tunnel didn’t even have lights, surely it led to some unexplored part of the caverns below the planet. The lighted tunnel had to be the right one.</p><p>Right?</p><p>“I think it’s—”</p><p>
  <em>Rey. </em>
</p><p>The word seemed to echo out from the darkness. She froze.  </p><p>
  <em>Rey. I know you’re here. </em>
</p><p>“Who are you?” The words just burst out, bouncing off the walls. She stepped away from the others and turned in a slow circle. “How are you doing this?”</p><p>“Rey?” Finn’s voice barely penetrated the throbbing hum of the presence that flowed from the dark tunnel like thick fog. She took a step toward it. Was it a spirit? Was she talking to a spirit?  </p><p>“Where are you?”</p><p>No answer.</p><p>She closed her eyes, searching around for the feeling she’d gotten in the caves on the planet of spires. The sense…the sense of nothingness…no, not that. The bright, glowing sense that the old woman had called <em>the Force. </em></p><p>Was it talking to her?</p><p>Was that the voice she’d just heard?</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>A trickle of something, something light and shimmering, like a silver thread.</p><p>She felt herself taking another step forward, eyes still closed. If this was the Force, maybe it could help her find the Doctor. Her foot slid forward again. Somehow, she knew she was walking toward the shadowy tunnel and into the darkness, but a sort of certainty settled into her mind. The Doctor was down here. This was the right tunnel.</p><p>And then she was running, following the silver thread through the shadows as if it were a fluttering butterfly and she was chasing it. A rumble echoed in the corners of her mind, but she ignored it, her eyes fixed on the light that pulled her faster and faster through the cavern, the tunnel running down, down, down, deeper into the darkness. She skidded to a stop as she felt a flight of steps up before her like a well, and light began to filter in again. Where was she? She hadn’t been watching as the tunnel curved and branched.</p><p>She needed to go down.</p><p>The certainty tugged at her like it had planted itself beneath her skin and ran out, down the stairs like a rope. Her hand went to her lightsaber and she glanced around, resisting it for a moment. No one. Not yet, at least.</p><p>Running feet pounded down the hallway and she whirled.</p><p>Finn nearly slammed into her.</p><p>He skidded backward, mouth dropping open. “How did you do that?” he blurted.</p><p>She stared at him. “Do what?”</p><p>“You just—” He motioned vaguely. “Took off like you knew exactly where you were going. There wasn’t any light!” He nodded back at BB8, who had a blue light shining out of a panel on his front. “Can you see in the dark? Do you have night vision, or—or something?”</p><p>Rey’s eyes widened. It had been dark that whole time? “I…I don’t know.” She’d been following the tug of that shimmering, pulsing presence Laya had called <em>the Force. </em>The Force. She wasn’t a Jedi—was she? “I think it was the Force.” She stared at him, the realization of her words sinking in. “I was following the Force.”</p><p>“The—<em>Force? </em>Are you serious? You’re a Jedi?” Finn looked like he was going to start grinning, then he just stared at her like—</p><p>Like she was the most amazing person he’d ever seen.</p><p>Rey felt herself flushing. “No, I’m really not, I’m not sure how it happened.” The sense tugged at her again, like a persistent child, and she glanced down the steps. “We should go…he’s down here. I know he is.”</p><p>“You know, just like—right. Right. The Force. The Force!” His thoughts just seemed to spill out as he followed her down the steps. “You’re a Jedi. The Jedi are real?”</p><p>“I don’t know!” Rey kept her eyes on her feet as the steps curved downward in a tight circle. “I’m not—”</p><p>A shout echoed up from below.</p><p>They both froze.</p><p>And one second later, two black-armored guards came barreling up the steps toward them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Part 2 Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In which Finn is a bit of a badass.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey had her lightsaber out in an instant, the blade fizzling and sparking as she ignited it. She charged forward with a yell and had the first guard back against the wall before he could take a breath, the blade inches from his neck. His hand flew to his blaster, and her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, keeping her blade steady.</p><p>“You will let us go,” she hissed, bringing the blade a little closer. “And—”</p><p>The saber popped, fizzled, and a spark jumped off the hilt, shocking her on the hand. Smoke drifted from inner workings, filling the area with its acrid smell.</p><p>The blade dissipated like a wisp of fog.</p><p>She huffed, slammed it back into its holster, and lunged for the guard’s blaster. His arms closed around her and they tumbled down the stairs, Rey kicking at his legs and his grip tightening around her. She struggled for her lightsaber again—maybe it would work, or maybe she could slam it over his head—but they slammed into the wall, skidded down another step, and he rolled, kneeling over her, his weight pressing on her chest and pinning her arms to her side as he pulled his blaster and held it to her forehead, the metal pressing against her skin.</p><p>She squeezed her eyes shut, gasping. She could knee him in the behind, she could—</p><p>A blaster-shot echoed through the narrow stairway, and the guard slumped forward, the smell of burned armor joining the smell of malfunctioning lightsaber.</p><p>She shoved the limp form to the side and jumped up. Finn stood a few steps up, blaster in hand, his breaths coming in hard gasps.</p><p>She just stared at him for a moment. “Thank you.” She started up the steps, then stopped. “Where’s the other one?”</p><p>He gave a short nod upward. “I got him too. Let’s go.”</p><p>She looked at him for a moment, searching for something to say, then just took off down the stairs, reaching down and snatching the guard’s blaster as she went. Finn was a step behind her as they spiraled downward, the steps curving so tightly it nearly made her dizzy. Her foot hit the ground hard and she nearly stumbled forward as Finn bumped into her from behind.</p><p>They’d reached the bottom.</p><p>Blaster held loosely at her side, she peered around the corner. A long stone hallway ran away into the distance, lined with rusty metal-grate doors. Dim but even electric lights gave an odd, dusky feel to the corridor and made the air itself seem pixelated.</p><p>Rey turned slightly. “I think we’re in the prisons,” she whispered.</p><p>“Prisons…” Finn peered around her. “Prisons. If they’ve got the Doctor…”</p><p>“Exactly.” Rey stepped around the corner. “And I think we took down the only two guards down here.”</p><p>“Probably set off a thousand alarms though.”</p><p>Their voices echoed lightly down the silent hallway, and Rey kept her blaster at the ready. “Probably.” She glanced around at the cells. Most of them seemed empty, except…</p><p>She was running before she’d even thought about it. There was a shadow, there, in that cell—she skidded to a stop in front of it and pressed her face against the metal, peering inside.</p><p>Through the shadows, she saw a streak of tan, a form leaning against the wall, feet kicked out, hands behind him.</p><p>“Oh, there you are.” The Doctor looked up. “They took my sonic!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Part 2 Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Less than a minute later, Rey had dug a paper clip out of her pocket and the lock clicked open. She flew forward, nearly running into the Doctor as he threw his arms around her and lifted her off the floor, grinning twirling in a circle. She buried her face in his shoulder, laughing.</p><p>“You’re alright.”</p><p>He set her down, hands on her shoulders. He looked a bit mussed, there was a small cut on his cheek, and his shirt-sleeve was torn, but he was standing. “Yep! Couldn’t hurt me that easy.” He glanced over her then behind her, his gaze resting on Finn. “Who’s this, then?”</p><p>“Oh—Finn. This is Finn. I met him—his ship landed on the surface.” She stepped back. “This is the Doctor…”</p><p>“Ah! Lovely to meet you.” The Doctor stuck out a hand, and Finn gave it a hearty shake. “Alright, come on you two, you’ve probably set off at least ten alarms picking the lock like that. That was brilliant, by the way, but I still want my sonic.” He glanced between them, then took off down the hallway.</p><p>Finn leaned over to Rey. “Is he always this cheery?”</p><p>Rey stifled a laugh. “Yes…but he’s right about the alarms. Come on.”</p><p>They took off after the Doctor, following him down the dusky corridor. He glanced back. “First thing,” he tossed over his shoulder, “is we <em>really </em>need to find my sonic. Really rude of them, in my opinion, and I need it back, because it’s the only sensor I’ve got.” The corridor turned a corner, and the Doctor stopped to peer around it. More empty cells carved into the stone, gated with rusty metal.</p><p>“Doctor,” Rey said. “Do you actually know where you’re going?”</p><p>He grinned. “Nope!”</p><p>Finn started to say something then stopped. Rey blinked at him.</p><p>“Should we go back?” Finn glanced back down the hallway as if expecting a guard to jump out. “Up, I mean.”</p><p>“Nah, that’s no fun. Why go back where we came from?” The Doctor took off down the hallway again. “Besides, they took my sonic this way after they’d dumped me in the cell and marched off like they owned the place. Which they probably do, but you know, technicalities.” He skidded to a stop as the corridor twisted again. No cells or rusty doors this time, just a long tunnel leading to some shadowy stairs leading up again.</p><p>“Ah!” He turned with a grin. “<em>Now </em>we’re getting somewhere!”</p><p>Finn bounded for the stairs as if he wanted out of the tunnel, and the Doctor was a step after him. Rey hesitated, glancing back down the tunnel, something niggling at her mind. Something didn’t seem right. She glanced around. It wasn’t just some amorphous sense, something had <em>changed. </em>There was another presence in the room, skittering along the floor like a bug.</p><p>That was it. She’d heard a sound that hadn’t been there before.</p><p>A round, orange droid popped around the corner and nearly ran into her.</p><p>“BB8!” She dropped to a crouch and hugged him. “Where have you been?”</p><p>He tilted his head back and let out a series of beeps and whistles. <em>Stairs. Winding, twisting stairs. </em>Of course. He’d had trouble with the stairs.</p><p>“I’m so sorry…”</p><p>Something brushed at her mind.</p><p>A sense.</p><p>She jumped to her feet, turning in a slow circle. The room seemed to darken, nothingness like tendrils spreading out and engulfing the lights, twining and twisting down the hallway toward her. She stumbled backward, throwing a hand forward as if she could push it away. She’d felt it before, she’d seen it, back in Laya’s cave—</p><p>It was the void that had slammed into her, right before she’d seen the vision.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Part 2 Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finn is a mess and I love him.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Finn was up the steps and out into the open corridor above before he looked back to check on the others.</p><p>He didn’t like the thought of how much stone was above his head, and the cells…<em>he remembered cleaning the lowest levels of Starkiller Base, sometimes even seeing the prisoners. Kept there for days without food or water, some bruised and bloodied and burned—not daring to doubt, convinced the interrogators had had a reason…</em>he leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He wasn’t there anymore. This wasn’t Starkiller Base, and most of those cells had been empty…hadn’t they?</p><p>The others. He should be checking on the others.</p><p>“Rey? Doctor?” The minute the words were out of his mouth, he could’ve kicked himself. He’d just announced his presence to anyone else that may be around. His hand went to his side, closing around his blaster. He could do this. He’d done it with the guard back there—<em>the guard falling, flopping down the steps, his life draining away from him and his head twisted strangely to the side—he’d killed him. </em></p><p>“Right here!”</p><p>He started at the voice and whirled to see the Doctor skidding to a stop beside him. “Don’t do that,” he blurted. “I might’ve shot you.”</p><p>The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up, and Finn could feel him looking at the blaster. He shoved it back in the holster.</p><p>“But I wouldn’t have—you know, if I knew it was you,” he said quickly.</p><p>“Right.” The Doctor turned and strode off down the hallway, leaving Finn just standing there, wondering what he’d done wrong. Other than accidentally threatening to shoot Rey’s friend. That had definitely been a mistake.</p><p>Hopefully he didn’t go tell Rey about it.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>Rey.</p><p>Where was Rey?</p><p>“Rey?” He peered back down the steps. Had they left her behind? No.  Surely, he hadn’t just run off and left Rey behind. Why had he done that? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She probably hated him for that. She could be in danger, she could be—</p><p>A shout echoed down the hallway.</p><p>He whirled, blaster out again, barely thinking as his fingers closed around it.</p><p>“Aha! A door!” The Doctor stood, hands stuffed in his pockets, one eyebrow raised at a solid metal door embedded in the stone. “I like doors, but I really don’t like closed doors. Got anything—”</p><p>Finn was at his side in two strides, pulling his blaster and shooting it straight at the lock.</p><p>The door drifted open.</p><p>The Doctor raised his other eyebrow.</p><p>“Well—” He raked his fingers through his hair, then just shoved the door open and stepped inside. Finn peered in after him.</p><p>Boxes of junk were stacked against all four walls, and above them, shelves of devices and machines were driven into the stone. Parts and wires and rusted bits of ships lay strewn across the floor.</p><p>“It’s a junk repository.” Finn stepped inside. “This must be where—” Where his crew dumped all their stuff. His crew—they definitely weren’t that anymore. He cut himself off quickly. The Doctor didn’t need to know anything about where he’d come from.</p><p>A grin burst across the Doctor’s face. “Oh, this is brilliant! Wonder if they dumped my sonic here.” He frowned, as if mildly insulted by his own accidental insinuation, then bounded forward, peering at the nearest shelf. “Ah, look at <em>that. </em>That’s a bit of a—”</p><p>The door flew open, and two guards marched in, the same black armor with some sort of insignia emblazoned on their shoulders. A grey circle with rays shooting out from it like sunbeams.</p><p>In an instant, Finn was behind the nearest crate, his blaster flying out of his hand and skidding across the floor as he dropped to a crouch. Oh, no. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He was going to catch them by surprise, shoot from the shadows—</p><p>The Doctor turned and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Ah—hello there. Just taking a little look-see. Quite the collection you’ve got here, if I may say—”</p><p>“Come quietly if you value your life,” the first guard snapped.</p><p>“Nope!” The Doctor lounged back against the shelf and cocked a grin at them. “See, I happen to <em>really </em>dislike the whole ‘if you value your life’ thing. Bit insulting, that. You <em>could </em>just escort me politely to your boss, because I’d really like to have a talk with whoever he is—”</p><p>Finn eyed the blaster. If he edged his arm out now, while the Doctor was distracting them, could he grab it and shoot? He slipped his hand forward—</p><p>The second guard lunged forward.</p><p>Finn froze, one hand sticking out from behind the crate.</p><p>The guard had the Doctor on the ground, bringing his foot forward and kicking him across the side of the head before Finn could even breathe. The Doctor tried to stand, blood dripping down his temple, and raised a hand.</p><p>“Now that’s just <em>rude—</em>” he slurred, before slumping to the ground.</p><p>The guard grabbed him, slung him over his shoulder, and a moment later, they’d disappeared out the door.</p><p>And Finn was alone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Part 2 Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is basically just me having fun with descriptions again.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey could’ve followed the sense with her eyes closed.</p><p>The tunnel grew darker and darker, until it was lit only by the occasional dim electric light, with patches of shadow in between. The familiar dark nothingness filtered through the cave, the same dark nothingness she’d sensed before it had grabbed hold of her and shoved the vision in her mind, the same voice that had called her name earlier.</p><p>The realization came with a sudden certainty. It wasn’t the Force that had called to her in the upper tunnels. It was this sense, this presence like a dark sun. It drew her, and yet repulsed her at the same time, like a huge well of power so deep and dark that she could fall into it and keep falling forever.</p><p>The Doctor had said it was void-energy. The space between universes.</p><p>What did it mean?</p><p>A chill seeped through the tunnel as it began to run downward, the lights farther and farther apart, a few of them flickering as if they were about to die, casting stark shadows about her. Marks scored the walls, and as she stopped by a light, running her finger down one of them, she realized they must be some kind of ancient runes. Something like an electric shiver pulsed through her arm as she touched it, and she drew back with a slight gasp.</p><p>What did they say? Was the history of these caves carved into their walls?</p><p>She started slowly down the tunnel again, the slow drip of water echoing eerily between the echoes of her own footsteps. The shadowy letters in the stone seemed to appear everywhere she looked, and an energy pulsed behind them that sent cold shivering through her. Who had carved these, and how long ago?</p><p>The tunnel took a sharp turn downward.</p><p>She skidded to a stop with a little gasp. The stone floor ran steeply down until it disappeared into a pool of darkness, and the power that emanated through the cave seemed to flow directly up from it like a spring.</p><p>Her foot moved forward before she could stop it, and then she was scrambling downward, sliding on the wet stone, grabbing onto the wall and sliding until she was running to keep up, careening into the shadows. The darkness below was almost a physical presence, thick and cold, and it tugged at her like a tentacle. She was sliding, falling, and then tumbling and rolling, landing on the flat ground with a crunch and a gasp.</p><p>She pushed herself up, blinking at the darkness. She raised her hand in front of her face. Nothing. Just blackness and a chill and the smell of underground wet. She jumped to her feet and took a testing step forward.</p><p>The ground seemed solid.</p><p>She took another step, and another, and then she was nearly running, weaving through the darkness with the skill of one who’d followed the path a thousand times before. She didn’t know how she did it, but with every step, she avoided the hollows and outcroppings and wove down through the tunnel, following the pull of the wellspring that felt so close and yet so huge.</p><p>She was gasping a little and her head was pounding when she saw a light in the distance.</p><p>At first she thought it was an illusion, an afterimage of the light above still flashing in her eyes. But when she squeezed her eyes shut, rubbed her hand across them, and opened them again, it was still there, steady and pale. Barely breathing, she crept forward, eyes fixed on the light and mind fixed on the shadowy presence.</p><p>The tunnel opened up so quickly she almost gasped.</p><p>A dimly lit cavern spread out before her, lights mounted at low angles around its perimeter. A chair was carved out of the wall, smoothed away by age, and a cloaked person lounged back against it, a dark hood covering his face and flowing down around him, his very self, his presence, spreading out around him like a cloud filled with a thousand echoes of himself.</p><p>At his feet lay the Doctor, sprawled as if he’d been dropped there, blood pooled around him.</p><p>Rey staggered backward, her vision flashing through her mind. The smooth stone, the way the blood dripped from his temple…it was all the same. All of it.</p><p>“Rey.” The voice was familiar. The voice she’d heard earlier, the voice she’d sensed behind the vision in the other cave. “I was wondering when you’d find me.”  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Part 2 Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I straight-up made up a villain. Don't judge me. My original-fantasy-writer-self is coming out. ;P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey stumbled forward and dropped to her knees beside him. “Doctor?” She smoothed his hair from his face and tried to wipe the blood away, but only succeeded in smearing it. “Doctor…please…” Her fingers slid to his neck, feeling for a pulse. Where was the main artery on a time lord? There—she felt something—the odd four-pulse heartbeat. Her hand dropped away and she slumped a little.</p><p>
  <em>He’s alive. </em>
</p><p>She felt the caped figure’s eyes on her and her head snapped up.</p><p>She jumped to her feet, fists clenched. “Who <em>are </em>you?”</p><p>His lips curled up in a smile, and he pushed back his hood. The face that met her was human, younger than she’d expected, but scarred with two slashes crossing across his cheek, long dark hair flecked with grey and tied back, and eyes that were almost pure black, glittering with something strange and dangerous.   </p><p>“I like to call myself Lord Castor.” He stood and swept forward until he was nearly eye-to-eye with her. “It means power in some language or another.”</p><p>She met his gaze as coldly as she could.</p><p>His voice lowered to a soft croon. “I know you saw this, you know. In your vision.”</p><p>She started, her eyes widening. Could he see into her head? No—no. She couldn’t show weakness. She imagined a mental wall slamming down. “How?” She kept her voice edged in steel. “You don’t know who I am.”</p><p>The words trailed off at the end, but she managed to finish the sentence, though she knew it was far from the truth. He had said her name.</p><p>
  <em>Rey…</em>
</p><p>“But I do.” He leaned forward, and she leaned back, wanting to back away from the shadows that seemed to curl around his feet. “You are Rey, scavenger and slave, and you are the first of the new Jedi.”</p><p>She stumbled a step backward, shaking her head quickly. “No. No I’m not. That’s not possible.” She wanted to turn and run, away from the black laser-gaze that seemed to stare through her and read everything she’d ever thought like some old record. “I’m not a Jedi, I’m nobody, shut up!” Was it true? It had to be. She couldn’t be important, that—that wasn’t possible.</p><p>He chuckled. “You’re far from being a <em>nobody. </em>You’re quite important, actually.” His gaze slid downward to the Doctor’s prone form. “Much too important to go running off with a reckless traveler.” He circled her like a coiling snake, forcing her to stumble around in a clumsy circle to keep him from sliding behind her. Her hand went to her lightsaber.</p><p>His gaze shot downward. “And yet you own an ancient Jedi weapon.” He held up a hand, palm flat towards her. “No, I’m not going to take it. It’s yours, and it’s rather impressive, if I may note. Besides, you’re not my <em>prisoner.</em>”</p><p>She spluttered, the words stuck for a minute in a flood of rising anger. “You—you nearly killed the Doctor!”</p><p>He waved a hand. “He decided to go sneaking around in my store-rooms, which was just rude. He rather deserved it. Besides, he’s not <em>dead, </em>just a bit of a knock on the head.” He turned and paced back up the steps, standing above her. “But <em>you </em>came right to me. Just as I’d hoped.” He grinned, an almost hungry grin. “You can feel it, yes? A wellspring of untapped power.” He raised a hand, and darkness swirled around his fingers, as if the shadows had snaked down from the ceiling at his call. “Me and you—the only two people in the universe who know of it.”</p><p>Rey stared at him, her breaths coming quickly. “How do you know of me?” she blurted. “What <em>are </em>you?”</p><p>“Ah—I suppose you’re going to accuse me of being one of the ancient Sith order, or something equally reprehensible. I suppose you know of them.” He tilted his head to the side, as if in acquiescence of her knowledge. “I am neither light nor dark, and I have seen the future.” He held a hand forward. “I can show you, if you want.”</p><p>She raised her hand, taking a stumbling step forward before stopping herself with a slight gasp. No! What was she doing? She couldn’t do this! If she took that offered hand, she would fall headfirst into a flood of power that would drown her.</p><p>He chuckled. “I’m not going to drag you into a black hole, Rey.” He lingered on the name, sending a crawling, oily feeling through her. “I’m only going to show you your future.”</p><p>“No.” Her lips barely formed the word. “You’ll only—”</p><p>“Lie?” He glanced down, giving the Doctor a light nudge with his foot. “Did I lie to you about that?”</p><p>“That was <em>you?” </em></p><p>“Ah, you’re just now figuring that out?”</p><p>“Did you—” Had he shoved the vision into her mind, back in the other cave? And then made it happen, just so he could claim he wasn’t a <em>liar</em>?</p><p>He hadn’t taken her weapon yet. All it would take would be one, well-placed slam through the chest, and all of this would be solved.</p><p>Her fingers closed around the hilt.</p><p>“Ah—I wouldn’t do that.”</p><p>The voice that spoke wasn’t Lord Castor’s.</p><p>Rey whirled, and saw the Doctor standing a few feet behind her.</p><p>Her eyes flicked to the ground, then up to where he now stood, blood smeared down his face and into his hair. He looked a bit pale, but his gaze was as strong as ever.</p><p>Rey’s lips parted in a half-uttered exclamation.</p><p>Lord Castor’s eyebrows shot up.</p><p>The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered forward, smirking a little. “Ah—looks like you missed something. Shameful, really, considering how powerful you claim to be. Really should’ve known I wasn’t human, and we Time Lords—well, we don’t get knocked down by a ‘bit of a knock on the head.’ Did hurt a bit, though.”  </p><p>Rey stared at him. “You weren’t—”</p><p>He grinned. “Nope! Just doing a bit of listening. You can get a lot of information when you’re supposed to be unconscious.” He titled his head back and squinted at the chair. “Bit dramatic there, don’t you think? The whole ‘black cape and ancient dark throne’ thing. Doesn’t really have much impact, considering nobody ever sees you.”</p><p>Castor’s eyes darkened, and he threw his hand forward.</p><p>The Doctor held up a hand. “Ah-ah-ah. Careful there. You’ll rip a hole in the universe.”</p><p>The hand froze.</p><p>Rey frowned as pieces clicked together in her mind like gears grinding to life. “Wait—”</p><p>“Oh, you hadn’t figured that out?” He raised an eyebrow at her, then turned the same look at Lord Castor. “You know, I’d been wondering how I’d managed to land on Jakku all those months ago. Seemed a bit strange, considering I hadn’t been able to cross universes in a while, and I didn’t even know this one existed. But that all makes sense now.” His eyes narrowed. “You’ve been pulling power from the void, haven’t you?”</p><p>“This cave is a wellspring of power!” Shadows swirled around Castor’s feet like a galaxy. “The ancients wrote of it in—”</p><p>“Nope. Try ‘weak point between universes.’ You…” the Doctor pointed a finger at him, “have some kind of power, I’m guessing it’s that <em>Force </em>thing old Laya mentioned back in the other universe. I’ve got a good guess at what happened here. Long, long time ago, somebody discovered some strange signal here, wrote it down somewhere. Obviously carved a bunch of secrets into the walls, although there’s got to be other records, considering you found the place. Ooh, that’s a fascinating thought. I wonder how…ah, I’ve hit on the truth, looks like. You got here, and you found out you could pull power from that tiny, tiny crack between the universes. That, or the old records told you.” He held up a finger. “No, no questions yet, I’m not done. So you started playing with it. Just a tiny little crack, but the more you played with it the more power you found. Because there’s a great big well of <em>something </em>in there, you know. Well, nothing. Sort of a cushion between universes. But you know what you’ve been doing?” He stuck his hands in his pockets and raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve been ripping the fabric and pulling out the stuffing. Every time you do that little dramatic shadow-power-display of yours, you widen that rip. And you know what happens when universes touch?” His gaze darkened.</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Castor’s hand had fallen to his side, but he looked like he wanted to strangle the Doctor with his glare.</p><p>“What?” The word just slipped out, Rey’s whisper echoing up toward the ceiling.</p><p>“They implode,” the Doctor said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Part 2 Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hmm, I actually kind of like Rass and Jada. I almost feel bad for making them the villains. :P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The door slammed shut, and Finn was alone.</p><p>He stood, slowly, keeping his eye on the blaster. Maybe he could follow the guards at a distance, see where they were taking Rey’s friend. He edged out from behind the crates, snatched the blaster, and froze again.</p><p>No movement.</p><p>Nobody to hear him.</p><p>He slipped the blaster into its holster at his side and slipped around the edge of the room to the door. Were there security cameras in here? Was that how the guards had found them? Guards didn’t usually randomly check store-rooms. He nudged the door, and it drifted open. Okay. Good. That was good. He’d probably completely destroyed the lock earlier.</p><p>He peered out into the hallway. Nothing moved, and even the lights cast still, stark shadows around him.</p><p>Which way had they gone?</p><p>He edged out the door and glanced both ways. The stone was too clean, he wouldn’t be able to see footprints. To the left, the tunnel ran off into the distance, and to the right were the stairs to the dungeons. They’d probably taken him down there. He’d try that first.</p><p>One hand on his blaster, he crept down the hallway, senses on high alert. The only sound was that of his footsteps, echoing entirely too loudly, and—something else.</p><p>He froze.</p><p>A skittering, like a small animal running across the stone. No, not an animal, that sounded like metal. Wait. Could it be the droid?</p><p>“BB8?” he whispered, his voice echoing off the walls.</p><p>The little round droid popped up out of the dark hole that was the stairs to the dungeon with a disgruntled beep, then rolled over to Finn, letting out a string of beeps and whistles, probably something to the extent of yelling at him for leaving him behind to take the steps alone.</p><p>Finn dropped to a crouch, glancing down the hallway again. “What’s that?”</p><p>BB8 beeped and swiveled his head toward the stairs, then back at Finn.</p><p>“Rey? Is she down there?”</p><p>The little droid’s head swiveled up and down.</p><p>“And the Doctor? Did you see him? Are they going to the same place—”</p><p>A shout echoed down the corridor.</p><p>Finn jumped to his feet, fingers closing around his blaster. Two figures skidded around the corner, blasters drawn.</p><p>One a tall human woman, the other a small cat-eyed man.</p><p>Jada stopped and narrowed her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?” she snapped. “They said there was trouble, I should’ve known it was you.”</p><p>“Since when do you work here?” He kept his hand on his blaster, backing up, ready to run. “I thought you were smugglers.”</p><p>“We are.” Blaster lowered to her side, Jada gave him a cool look. “Smugglers for Lord Castor. But you didn’t need to know that.”</p><p>Rass smacked her on the arm. “Hey now, I like his spirit.” He grinned, revealing pointed teeth. “Worthless cause, but the spirit’s there.” He clicked his tongue. “Shame, really. The boss is a rich man, you could’ve been really successful. Still could, you know.” He shrugged. “Those black-helmet guys would just throw you right into the prisons again, we’re giving you a chance. Come on, Finn. I know you got somebody after you, we can make a whole new identity for you and everything.” </p><p>“Worthless—” Finn stared at them. They’d never really been his friends, had they? He’d thought they might have, maybe, if he stayed with them, but now… “No.” The word came out with more firmness than expected. “No.” His hand tightened around his blaster. “No. I’m finding my friends, and I’m getting out of this place.” He raised the blaster, sight on Jada’s heart.</p><p>His finger hesitated on the trigger.</p><p>He couldn’t do it.</p><p>He couldn’t look them in the face, and watch them both fall by his hand.</p><p>Jada rolled her eyes. “Spirit, huh? Can’t even face us.” With one stride, she was forward, smacking her hand across Finn’s arm so hard his fingers opened and the blaster tumbled to the floor. She jerked a nod at Rass. “Cuff him. I think Lord Castor will want to talk to him.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Part 2 Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yep, I definitely subscribe to Force-sensitive Finn as canon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Doctor lounged against the wall, arms crossed. “Well? Are you going to say something, or just sit there staring ominously?”</p><p>Lord Castor had sat back down, hood thrown back carelessly, chin resting in his hand. “You really think I’d let that happen? I happen to live in this universe, you know.” His tone was cool, but as Rey stood glaring at him, she thought she could sense a waver in it. Did he know the Doctor was right?</p><p>“Really, you’re being rather stupid.” His gaze snapped to Rey, and she almost started. “You have the potential to become one of the most powerful Jedi to ever exist, and you…” he looked to the Doctor, “have just revealed yourself to be a <em>lord of time. </em>Do you realize the team the three of us could make?”</p><p>Rey drew back, shifting away from his gaze. A thousand images flashed through her mind—was she truly remembering them, or was he digging around and drawing them up, examining them like they were old trinkets at a vendor-market? The old woman in the cave, surrounded by a glow of light that no one else could see. The planet, its presence pulsing beneath the surface, speaking to her and calling her friend. The newspapers in America, the heart of the TARDIS opening up at her call.</p><p>No…</p><p>No, that couldn’t be right…</p><p>He smirked. “You know you’re quite bad at hiding your thoughts, right? You should really learn. Yes…” He stood, taking a step down toward her. “You are powerful, Rey. Important.” He let the word fall like a hammer-strike. “This universe has been calling for you, drawing you back. You could be so much more.” His voice echoed around the chamber, and he was down the steps and grabbing her hand in less than a breath. She let out a little cry and tried to pull it away, but his fingers tightened, nearly pinching her.</p><p>“Close your eyes…”</p><p>Almost against her will, her eyes closed, and then she was standing in a world of nothingness. The same nothingness she had felt ever since she’d stepped into Laya’s cave, the same nothingness that seeped through this cave and into the ancient runes on the walls. And yet, somehow, it didn’t swallow her up.</p><p>A step at her back brought her around, and she whirled to see Lord Castor prowling around her like a tiger. He wore a sand-colored tunic and a brown cape, tall boots, and his dark hair was no longer streaked with grey. “Feel it. Feel it all around you. The Jedi call it the Force, some call it the dark side, but it’s not the only power in the universe. The Force and the void, mixed together—the power at our fingertips is immense.”</p><p>She stared, sifting through the pieces in her mind. The Force. The void. The way it had spoken to her, like a thread of light through the caves. It couldn’t be…but it had to be.</p><p>Was he really powerful enough to rip the universe in two?</p><p>He scoffed. “If the so-called <em>time lord </em>really lived up to the title, he’d know that with enough power and enough control, the walls can be held steady.” The ground rippled, and then Rey was standing in the sand of Atlantis, waves lapping at the shore—and the prone body of a young boy, drowned at her feet. The streets of America, vapors curling around her in the night, Tom’s voice in her ear and his lips against hers. She stood at the edge of a cliff, a small blonde waif of a girl plummeting into the depths, her body caught in the churning mines.</p><p>She stumbled, gasping, tears stinging her cheeks. “No…”</p><p>“They’ve haunted you all this time.” His voice broke through the visions, and she stood once again in darkness. “You’ve wished you could save them, or others like them. You could, you know.” He held a hand forward, and his dark eyes seemed to lighten and turn open, earnest. “No one would ever have to die again.” He snapped his fingers, and—</p><p>She stood in a corridor in a cave, and three figures marched away from them.</p><p>One a tall human woman, the other a short man, and both of them had their blasters pointed at Finn.</p><p>“Finn—” She tried to step forward, but her feet passed through the stone as if she were a ghost.</p><p>Lord Castor stepped up beside her. “Oh, you can’t touch them.” He turned to Rey, his eyes dark again, piercing her. “You do know they’re going to throw him in the dungeons, right?”</p><p>“I thought—let him go!” She turned, fists clenched. “You’re the master here, let him go!”</p><p>“Very well.” He shrugged, snapped his fingers, and tendrils of darkness spread out from him and down the tunnel like creeping tentacles, one looping around the woman’s ankle, another around the little man’s waist, pulling them backward. They both turned, the woman grabbing for her blaster, but the darkness curled up, pinning her hands to her sides, the shadows around them growing thicker and thicker until they were nothing but masses of darkness. Finn stumbled backward, staring open-mouthed as the darkness melted away—</p><p>Leaving no one in the hallway but him.</p><p>“What did you do to them?” Rey tried to run forward again, but she seemed to hit a wall, the vision tugging at her like a veil she couldn’t step through. “Where are they?”</p><p>“I let him go. Your fugitive is safe now.” The tunnel faded, and once again, they stood in darkness and nothingness—but now, it felt heavy with the souls of those like the two who had just vaporized into nothing. “Don’t you see? You could save—”</p><p>She stumbled backward, turning in an almost clumsy circle. She needed to get out of here, the Doctor could be in danger, Finn could be in danger—</p><p>The vision dissolved, and she was on her knees in the cave, gasping, Lord Castor standing above her with shadows curling around his feet and up his arms like snakes.</p><p>“You killed them!” Rey dashed forward, nearly slamming into him, grabbing him by the tunic and shoving him backward. “You killed them for—for nothing! They were innocent!” Even if they’d thrown Finn in the dungeons, she could’ve rescued him! And he’d vaporized them, like it was nothing! “Why did you do that?” Tears stung her face, and she was nearly shouting now. “Nobody deserves to—to die like that! You’re no better than that dalek!”</p><p>That almost seemed to stymie him, and for a moment, he paused. Rey took the opportunity to give him another shove, back toward that awful chair he liked to sit in—</p><p>Which the Doctor was now sprawled across, one leg over the edge, grinning.</p><p>Lord Castor whirled, throwing a hand forward, and the Doctor flew backward, lifting into the air and flopping over the back of the chair with a horrible crunch.</p><p>“No, you can’t—” Not even thinking, Rey threw her hand forward. Castor whirled, darkness wavering about him like midday heat. Their hands stopped a foot apart, pushing against an almost physical wall as they both skidded backward. She could feel it, pulsing through her fingertips, the well of power from behind the throne. One blast, and he would die like the others had died, and they would be safe. The Doctor would be safe. Finn would be safe. Just one blast—</p><p>The air rippled behind the throne, the stone wall cracking, nothingness spilling out.</p><p>
  <em>Do you know what happens when universes touch? </em>
</p><p>She could hear the Doctor’s words echoing through the chamber again.</p><p>
  <em>They implode. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>No. </em>
</p><p>“No!” She nearly shouted the word, throwing her shoulders back and closing her eyes, seeing the thread of shimmering light that had surrounded the woman, surrounded herself. She sucked in a sharp breath, pulling it all to herself, felt it wash over her, pulled harder. Was this the Force? The light surrounded her, she could feel the presence of every breathing thing in the caves and on the surface, she could see the past and the future and hear the echoes of memories, of old adventurers stumbling on this cave, carving the runes in the walls, she could see the Doctor glowing like a bright light and Lord Castor like a black hole in front of her.</p><p>She could feel Finn, his presence ragged at the edges with confusion, running through the caves toward her.</p><p>She brushed against his sense, and somehow, she felt him brush back, confused but relieved. She could almost see him skidding to a stop, turning in a slow circle, and his voice echoed indistinctly in her mind. He seemed to take a breath—and then she felt him push, responding unconsciously to her call, a power that mirrored hers and a strength that bolstered it.</p><p>She shoved both hands forward.</p><p>The Force exploded out around her like a blast, pushing the nothingness back through the crack in the stone wall.</p><p>Lord Castor skidded backward, slamming into the throne. Light streamed out around it, rippling with dark nothingness as the crack widened. She pushed again, and then pulled, trying to shove the darkness back and pull the light forward—the Force, it had to be the Force. The cave wall rippled again, and then something spit out, something small and hard.</p><p>It landed with a crunch at Rey’s feet.</p><p>She stumbled backward and looked down at a single dalek.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Part 2 Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finn has no idea he just helped Rey save the universe lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey had her lightsaber out in an instant, eyes fixed on the droid—creature. Had she pulled it <em>out </em>of the void? Had Lord Castor? Her fingers tightened around the metal hilt, her thumb hovering over the button. She could feel the pulse of life all about her, the Force surrounding her and flowing through the caves. And the thing in front of her felt strangely, unsettlingly familiar.</p><p>The dalek’s eyestalk swiveled up toward her, blue glow pulsing.</p><p>“COMMANDER. WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?”</p><p>She froze.</p><p>She knew this dalek.</p><p>They’d dropped it into the void all those months ago.</p><p>“THE COMMANDER WILL ORDER ME.” Its head swiveled to Lord Castor, and then back to Rey. “I AM WAITING.”</p><p>“I haven’t got any orders!” She slipped her saber back into its holster and stepped back, hands up. “Just stop—”</p><p>Lord Castor took a step down, gaze darkening. “So this is what you do? Summon some servant-droid who calls you <em>commander</em>?” He raised a hand, tendrils of darkness curling around his fingers. Rey clenched her fists, trying to summon the presence—the Force—she’d channeled a moment ago. Was he aiming for her or the dalek?</p><p>Something brushed at her feet.</p><p>Nothingness.</p><p>The dalek whirled, and a shot seared across the room, slamming into Castor’s chest. Shadows flew from his fingers and whirled around the dalek like a cyclone, and he stumbled, his eyes widening, and then slumped forward across the steps. A last bit of darkness trickled from his fingers, swirling up like desert winds. The dalek screamed and launched itself upward, trailing shadows behind it, its suction latching onto Lord Castor’s back as the ripples behind the throne shot outward like a fountain exploding, melding with the shadows around them—and melted away, leaving the steps, the throne, and the stone behind it empty and still.</p><p>Rey nearly stumbled forward, gasping a little. They were gone. Somehow, she could tell. Their life-pulse had simply vanished, swallowed by the nothingness that was swiftly depleting, trickling back into the crack as if drawn by a magnet.</p><p>“They’re closing!” The Doctor let out a whoop. “Rey, you did it! They’re—”</p><p> A noise at the opening of the cave brought them both around, and Finn came running out of the tunnel. “Rey, Doctor, there you are—what happened?” He skidded to a stop and looked around. “What just happened? Rey, you did something I felt something—”</p><p>“We fixed the walls between the universes!” In a moment, Rey was running forward, throwing her arms around Finn, laughing. He almost lifted her off her feet, the pulse of his presence brushing up against her and flowing into her like it had a few moments before.  </p><p>“You—what?” He set her down, hands on her arms, searching her face. “Did you say—universes?”</p><p>“Yes!” She couldn’t help grinning. “We—”</p><p>“Long story, really.” The Doctor sauntered up, hands in his pockets. “Let’s just say, this Lord Castor person was so completely, utterly bent on power that he decided pulling it from the cushion between the universes was a great idea, which could’ve gotten us all in a lot of trouble. But it’s closing now, no pressure on it, so that’s good—wait. Oh. Ohhh.”</p><p>They both turned to stare at him.</p><p>“What?” Finn blurted.</p><p>“What is it?” And yet, the minute the words were out, she thought she knew.</p><p>“The walls are closing.” The Doctor nearly shoved his way past them and into the tunnel. “We’ve got to go!”  </p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Part 2 Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welp...I made myself sad.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rey didn’t move.</p><p>“Doctor—”</p><p>The Doctor skidded to a stop and turned. “Ah—what?”</p><p>Rey stared at him. The walls were closing. If they got back to the TARDIS in time, they could run away again—<em>she </em>could run away again. She could go back to jumping around the universe through time with the Doctor, seeing forests and oceans and meeting people.</p><p>
  <em>The universe has been calling for you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Drawing you back. </em>
</p><p>Images of the alternate Jakku flashed through her mind, ruined and destroyed, the TARDIS insisting on landing them there on the desolate desert planet, the way she’d felt the tug that had connected her to the heart of the ship. The flickering sense of life that had stretched across the desert and latched into her soul like a familiar presence.</p><p>The Force.</p><p>It was the same sense, the same thing that had been calling for her all this time. When she’d pushed away the influence of the newspapers, when she’d spoken to the planet, when she’d stepped into the glowing, star-like heart of the TARDIS just for a moment. When she’d seen the light around Laya.</p><p>
  <em>Drawing you back. </em>
</p><p>She could feel the gentle pulse of life around her, like a familiar presence.</p><p>And Finn, standing so close to her now, his hand almost brushing hers and his sense twining around her soul. Somehow, she’d expected him to go back to being just another presence, a moment of help against the darkness—but he hadn’t let go, and somehow she didn’t want him to.</p><p>If she left now…could she ever get back?</p><p>“Rey…”</p><p>It was Finn’s voice. His dark eyes were confused but sincere.</p><p>BB8 let out a small beep at her side.</p><p>“He’s staying.” But Finn wasn’t looking at the droid, he was looking at Rey. He reached his hand forward, then dropped it, as if he didn’t dare hope. “BB8, I mean. He says he’s staying, and he has a—what?”</p><p>BB8 beeped again.</p><p>“He has a message for the Resistance!” Now he was looking at BB8, eyes wide. “You’re with the Resistance? Wait, of course you are, Poe was—”</p><p>“You have a message for the Resistance?” Rey dropped to a crouch beside the droid. “Why didn’t you tell us?”</p><p>More beeps, his head drooping.</p><p>“Because he never thought he’d get back.” Rey stood again, slowly. “Doctor…”</p><p>“Oh. Right.” He looked down at the droid, then rocked backward a step. “Your universe and all that. But you’re not—”</p><p>“I have to.” The words slipped out quietly, and a tear slid down her cheek. “I can’t—go back.”</p><p>The Doctor stared at her, starting to speak then stopping again. “Oh.” The word almost sounded strangled. “Well. I suppose…” And then he was hugging her, her feet inches off the ground, his face in her shoulder. A tear smeared against her neck.</p><p>“It’s been a good run, Rey.” His voice was muffled. “Wish it could’ve been longer.”</p><p>She didn’t want to let go.</p><p>He was her best friend. Almost—family.</p><p>“Find someone,” she murmured. “Show them the universe.”</p><p>Her feet hit the ground as he let her go, and then he was running, not looking back. He disappeared around a corner—and he was gone.</p><hr/><p>Rey and Finn popped out into the wet, muggy air of the planet, the little droid a splash behind them, shaking himself with an annoyed beep. Rey looked down—the Doctor was in there somewhere.</p><p>Maybe he was gone by now.</p><p>“We need a ship.” Finn’s voice cut through her thoughts and she turned away quickly, scrubbing a hand across her face.</p><p>She nodded dully. It didn’t seem worth it, any of it. She was leaving the best friend she’d ever had, and for what? For a universe that had never been kind, a universe she barely knew, though she’d lived here her whole life.</p><p>She looked at Finn. He could see into her soul, and somehow she didn’t mind. Even now, she could feel the gentle pulse of his sense, brushing against her like a hug. They could fly a ship together. They’d done it before, with the TARDIS—how she’d miss the TARDIS, her room there, all the little things she’d collected from her time aboard her. She fingered the lightsaber and looked at BB8.  </p><p>Maybe it wasn’t so unknown.</p><p>“We have one,” she said, quietly, looking forward to the abandoned ship, the name <em>Scavenger </em>scrawled on its side.</p><p>He glanced at her, nodded, and held out his hand.</p><p>She took it was they splashed across the swamp toward the ship.</p><hr/><p>The Doctor threw a lever forward, bringing the TARDIS out of the ceiling and launching it forward, through the swiftly-closing crack in the universes. It jerked, the core flickered, and then nearly jumped through the void and into the time vortex as the crack snapped closed behind him, leaving only a wavering scar.</p><p>“Well,” he said, his voice echoing around the silent, empty console. He glanced up at the core. “Where to next? Got any ideas?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, this is the end. I've had so much fun developing this series, and thank you to everyone that's followed it this far!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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